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THE 



CATECHISM 



THE COUNCIL OP TRENT 



PUBLISHED BY COMMAND 



POPE PIUS THE FIFTH 



TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH 

BY 

THE REV. J. DONOVAN 

PROFESSOR, &C, ROYAL COLLEGE, MA.YNOOTH. 



FIRST AMERICAN, FROM THE DUBLIN EDITION. 



BALTIMORE, 

PUBLISHED BY JAMES MYRES, 

Near the Cathedral. 

1S33. 






GIFT 

HP FLETCHER 

MAR 2 2 1960 



PRINTED BY SANDS & NEILSON, 
S. E corner of Calvert and Market-streets. 






DECREE OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



That the faithful may approach the Sacraments with greater re- 
verence and devotion, the Holy Synod commands all Bishops not only 
to explain, in a manner accommodated to the capacity of the receiv- 
ers, the nature and use of the Sacraments, when they are to be admi- 
nistered by themselves ; but also to see that every Pastor piously and 
prudently do the same, in the vernacular language, should it be neces- 
sary and convenient. This exposition is to accord with a form to be 
prescribed by the Holy Synod for the administration of all the Sacra- 
ments, in a Catechism, which bishops wijll take care to have 

FAITHFULLY TRANSLATED INTO THE VERNACULAR LANGUAGE, AND 
EXPOUNDED TO THE PEOPLE BY ALL PASTORS. 



Cone. Trid. Sess. 24. de Reform, c. 7. 



THE 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 



The Roman Catechism, of which an English translation is now 
submitted to the Public, was composed by decree of the Council of 
Trent ; and the same venerable authority commands all Bishops " to 
" take care that it be faithfully translated into the vernacular language. 
" and expounded to the people by all pastors."* 

The Fathers of the Council had examined with patient industry, 
and, in the exercise of their high prerogative, had defined, with uner- 
ring accuracy, the dogmas of faith which were then denied or disput- 
ed : but the internal economy of the Church, also, solicited and engag- 
ed their attention ; and, accordingly, we find them employed in de- 
vising measures for the instruction of ignorance, the amelioration of 
discipline, and the reformation of morals. 

Amongst the means suggested to their deliberative wisdom for the 
attainment of these important ends, the Roman Catechism has been 
deemed not the least judicious or effective. The ardor and industry 
of the " Reformers" were actively employed, not only in the publica- 
tion of voluminous works, " to guard against which required, perhaps, 
" little labour or circumspection ;" but, also, in the composition of " in- 
" numerable smaller works, which, veiling their errors under the sem- 
" blance of piety, deceived with incredible facility the simple and the 
u incautious."f To meet the mischievous activity of such men, and to 
rear the edifice of Christian knowledge on its only secure and solid 
basis, the instruction of it? authorised teachers; to afford the faithful a 
fixed standard of Christian belief, and to the Pastor a prescribed form 
of religious instruction; to supply a pure and perennial fountain of liv- 
ing waters to refresh and invigorate at once the Pastor and the flock, 

* Cone. Trii Sess. 24. de Reform, cap. 7. f Pref. page 15. 



viii PREFACE. 

ped, facilitate the duty of public instruction, and render this Catechism, 
what it was originally intended to be, the manual of Pastors. 

Such are the nature and object of the present work: a brief sketch 
of its history must enhance its worth, and may, it is hoped, prove ac- 
ceptable to the learned reader. 

It has already been observed, that the Roman Catechism owes its 
origin to the zeal and wisdom of the Fathers of Trent : the Decree of 
the Council for its commencement was passed in the twenty-fourth ses- 
sion; and its composition was confided to individuals recommended, 
no doubt, by their superior piety, talents and learning. That, during 
the Council, a Congregation had been appointed for the execution of 
the work, is matter of historic evidence ;* but whether, before the close 
of the Council, the work had actually been commenced, is a point of 
interesting, but doubtful inquiry .f It is certain, however, that amongst 
those who, under the superintending care of the sainted Archbishop of 
Milan, were most actively employed in its composition, are to be num- 
bered three learned Dominicans, Leonardo Marini, subsequently rais- 
ed to the Archiepiscopal throne of Lanciano,| Francisco Foreiro, the 
learned translator of Isaias,§ and iEgidius Foscarari, Bishop of Mode- 
na,|| names not unknown to history and to literature.^" Whether to 
them exclusively belongs the completion of the Catechism, or whether 
they share the honor and the merit with others, is a question which, 
about the middle of the last century, enlisted the zeal and industry of 
contending writers. The Letters and Orations of Pogianus, published 
by Lagomarsini, seem however to leave the issue of the contest no 
longer doubtful. Of these letters one informs us. that three Bishops 
were appointed by the Sovereign Pontiff to undertake the task :** of 
the three Dominicans already mentioned, two only had been raised to 
the episcopal dignity ; and hence a fourth person, at least, must have 
been associated to their number and their labors. That four persons 
had been actually appointed by the Pontiff appears from the letter of 
Gratianus to Cardinal Commendon ;ft ar) d after much research, Lago- 
marsini has discovered that this fourth person was Muzio Calini, Arch- 

* Pogianus, vol. 2, p. xviii. f Palavicino, lib. xxiv. c. 13. 

I Epistola? et orationes Julii Pogiani, edita? a Lagomarsini, Romae 1756, vol. 2. p. xx. 

§ Oltrochius de vita ac rebus gestis, S. Caroli Borromsei, lib. 1. c. 8. annot. 3. apud. 
Pogianum, vol. 2. p. xx. 

|| Tabularium Ecclesise Romanae. Leipsic 1743. 

IT Foreiro's translation and commentary on Isaias may be seen in the " Recueil des 
grands critiques." 

** " Datum est negotium a Pontifice Maximo tribus episcopis," &c. Pog. Ep. et Orat. 
vol. 3, p. 449. 

ft "ad earn rem quatuor viros Pius delegit," &c. Pog. vol. 1, xvii. 



PREFACE. ix 

bishop of Zara.* The erudite and accurate Tirabos-chi has arrived 
at the same conclusion : he expressly numbers Calini amongst the au- 
thors of the Roman Catechism.f The MSS. notes, to which Largo- 
marsini refers in proof of this opinion, mention, it is true, the names of 
Galesinus and Pogianus with that of Calini : Pogianus, it is universal- 
ly acknowledged, had no share in the composition of the work; and 
the passage, therefore, must have reference solely to its style. With 
this interpretation the mention of Calini does not conflict : the orations 
delivered by him in the Council of Trent prove, that in elegance of 
Latinity he was little inferior to Pogianus himself; and the style, there- 
fore, might also have employed the labor of his pen. 

Other names are mentioned as possessing claims to the honor of hav- 
ing contributed to the composition of the Trent Catechism, amongst 
which are those of Cardinal Seripandus, Archbishop of Salerno, and 
legate at the Council to Pius the Fourth, Michael Medina, and Cardi- 
nal Antoniano secretary to Pius the Fifth ; but Tiraboschi omits to no- 
tice their pretensions ; and my inquiries have not been rewarded with 
a single authority competent to impeach the justness of the omission. 
Their names, that of Medina excepted, he frequently introduces 
throughout his history : in no instance, however, does he intimate that 
they had any share in the composition of the Roman Catechism ; and 
his silence therefore I am disposed to interpret as a denial of their 
claim. 

The work, when completed,! was presented to Pius the Fifth, and 
was handed over by his Holiness for revisal to a Congregation, over 
which presided the profound and judicious Cardinal Sirlet.§ The style, 
according to some, was finally retouched by Paulus Manutius:|| ac- 
cording to others, and the opinion is more probable, it owes this last 
improvement to the classic pen of Pogianus.^" Its uniformity, (the ob 
servation is Lagomarsini's) and its strong resemblance to that of the 

* Calini assisted at the Council, as Archbishop of Zara, and died Bishop of Terni, in 
1570. It would appear from Tiraboschi that he belonged to no religious order. He is 
called "huomo di molte lettere e molta pieta." See MSS. notes found in the library of 
the Jesuit College in Fermo ; also MSS. letters of Calini, apud Pogian. vol. 2. xxii. Pa- 
lavicino Istoria del C. di Trento, 1. 15, c. 13. 

f See Tiraboschi Storia della Letteratura Italiana, T. vii. part 1, p. 304, 308. vid. 
Script. Ordin. Prasdic. vol. 228. Romae, 1784. 

I It was finished anno 1564. Catechismum habemus jam absolutum, &c. Letter of S. 
Charles Borromeo to Cardinal Hosius, dated December 27th, 1564, Pog. 2. xxxxxvii. 

§ Ibid. To Cardinal Sirlet, Biblical literature owes the varies lectiones in the Antwerp- 
ian Polyglot. 

|| Graveson Hist. Eccl. T. 7, p. 156. Ed. Venet. 1738. Apostolus Zeno. Anotat. in 
Bibl. Elog. Ital. T. 11, p. 136. Ed. Venet. 1733. 

IT Lagomarsini Not. in Gratian. Epist. ad Card. Commend. Romae, 1756. 
2 



x PREFACE. 

other works of Pogianus, depose in favour of the superiority of his 
claim.* The work was put to press under the vigilant eye of the labo- 
rious and elegant Manutius,f published by authority of Pius the Fifth, 
and by command of the Pontiff translated into the languages of Italy, 
France, Germany, and Poland.^ To the initiated no apology is, I 
trust, necessary for this analysis of a controversy which the Transla- 
tor could not, with propriety, pass over in silence, and on which so 
much of laborious research has been expended. To detail, however, 
the numerous approvals that hailed the publication of the work, recom- 
mended its perusal, and promoted its circulation, would, perhaps, ra- 
ther fatigue the patience, than interest the curiosity of the reader.§ 
Enough, that its merits were then, as they are now, recognised by the 
Universal Church ; and the place given amongst the masters of spiritu- 
al life to the devout A'Kempis, " second only," says Fontenelle, "to 
" the books of canonical Scripture," has been unanimously award- 
ed to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, as a compendium of Ca- 
tholic theology. 

Thus, undertaken by decree of the Council of Trent, the result of 
the aggregate labors of the most distinguished of the Fathers who com- 
posed that august assembly, revised by the severe judgment, and pol- 
ished by the classic taste of the first scholars of that classic age, the 
Catechism of the Council of Trent is stamped with the impress of su- 
perior worth, and challenges the respect and veneration of every read- 
er. 

In estimating so highly the merits of the original, it has not, howev- 
er, escaped the Translator's notice, that a Work purely theological 
and didactic, treated in a severe, scholastic form, and therefore not re- 
commended by the more ambitious ornaments of style, must prove un- 
inviting to those who seek to be amused, rather than to be instructed. 
The judicious reader will not look for such recommendation : the cha- 
racter of the work precludes the idea : perspicuity, and an elaborate 
accuracy, are the leading features of the original ; and the Translator 

*VoI. 2, p. xxxiv. fPog- vol. 2, p. xxxix. 

Jit was printed by Manutius before the end of July, 1566, but not published until the 
September following, when a folio and quarto edition appeared at the same time, accom- 
panied with an Italian translation, from the pen of P. Alessio Figgliucoi, O. P. Sabutin. 
in vita Pii V. Pog. vol. 2, xl. 

§ Amongst these authorities are Bulls 102, 105, of Pius V. in Bullar. p. 305, 307 ; Brief 
of Greg. XIII. 1583; Epist. Card. Borrom ; Synods of Milan, 1565 ; of Bcneventum, 
1567 ; of Ravenna, 1568 ; of Meaux, 1569; of Geneva, 1574 ; of Melun, (national) 1576; 
of Rouen, 1581; ofBourdeaux, 1583; of Tours, 1583; ofRhcims, 1583; ofTolouse, 
1590; of Avignon, 1594 ; of Aquileia, 1586, &c. &c. &c. 



PREFACE. xi 

is, at least, entitled to the praise of not having aspired to higher ex- 
cellencies. To express the entire meaning of the author, attending ra- 
ther to the sense, than to the number of his words, is the rule by which 
the Roman Orator was guided in his translation of the celebrated ora- 
tions of the two rival orators of Greece.* From this general rule, 
however just, and favorable to elegance, the Translator has felt it a 
conscientious duty not unfrequently to depart, in the translation of a 
work, the phraseology of which is, in so many instances, consecrated 
by ecclesiastical usage. Whilst, therefore, he has endeavoured to 
preserve the spirit, he has been unwilling to lose sight of the letter : 
studious to avoid a servile exactness, he has not felt himself at liberty 
to indulge the freedom of paraphrase : anxious to transfuse into the 
copy the spirit of the original, he has been no less anxious to render 
it an express image of that original. The reader, perhaps, will blame 
his severity : his fidelity, he trusts, may defy reproof; and on it he 
rests his only claim to commendation. 

By placing the work, in its present form, before the Public, the 
Translator trusts he shall have rendered some service to* the cause of 
religion : should this pleasing anticipation be realised, he will deem 
the moments of leisure devoted to it well spent, and the reward more 
than commensurate to his humble labors. 



*De opt. gen. orat. n. 14. 

Maynooth College, 

June 10th, 1829. 



PREFACE 



THE CATECHISM 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 



INTENTION OF THE COUNCIL— OBJECT AND AUTHORITY OF 
THE WORK— ITS USE AND DIVISION. 

Such is the nature of the human mind, so limited are its in- Insuffici- 
tellectual powers, that, although by means of diligent and la-^n°rea- 
borious inquiry it has been enabled of itself to investigate and son - 
discover many divine truths; yet guided solely by its own 
lights it could never know or comprehend most of those things 
by which eternal salvation, the principal end of man's creation 
and formation to the image and likeness of God, is attained. — 
" The invisible things of God, from the creation of the world, Necessity 
" are," as the Apostle teaches, " clearly seen, being understood t ion# eve a " 
" by the things that are made : his eternal power also and di- 
" vinity." (1) But "the mystery which had been hidden from 
" ages and generations" so far transcends the reach of man's 
understanding, that were it not " manifested to his saints to 
" whom God," by the gift of faith, " would make known the 
" riches of the glory of this mystery, amongst the Gentiles, 
" which is Christ," (2) it had never been given to human re- 
search to aspire to such wisdom. 

But, as " faith cometh by hearing," (3) the necessity of the Andofau- 
assiduous labour and faithful ministry of a legitimate teacher, *°^ e d w 
at all timef , towards the attainment of eternal salvation is mani- 
fest, for it is written, " how shall they hear without a preach- 

(1) Rom. i. 20. (2) Coloss. i. 26, 27. (3) Rom. x. 17. 






,4 PREFACE. 

"er? And how shall they preach unless they be sent?" (4)— 
And, indeed, never, from the very creation of the world, has 
God most merciful and benignant been wanting to his own ; 
but " at sundry times and divers manners spoke, in times past, 
« to the Fathers by the Prophets ;" (5) and pointed out, in a 
manner suited to the times and circumstances, a sure and di- 
rect path to the happiness of heaven. But, as he had foretold 
that he would give a teacher, « to be the light of the Gentiles 
« and salvation to the ends of the earth ;» (6) " in these days 
"he hath spoken to us by his Son," (7) whom also by a voice 
from heaven, "from the excellent glory," (8) he has com- 
manded all to hear and obey; and the Son "hath given some 
" Apostles, and some Prophets and others Evangelists and 
" others Pastors, and Teachers," (9) to announce the word 
of life ; that we be not carried about like children with every 
wind o'f doctrine, but holding fast to the firm foundation of the 
faith, " may be built together into a habitation of God in the 
"Holy Ghost" (10) 

That none may receive the word of God from the ministers 
torsof P the of the Church as the word of man but as the word of Christ, 

beTeard 10 whal it: reall y is ' the S&me Savi ° Ur haS ordamed that their min " 

istry should be invested with such authority that he says to 
them : " he that hears you hears me ; and he that despises you 
" despises me;" (11) a declaration which he would not be un- 
derstood to make to those only to whom his words were ad- 
dressed, but likewise to all who, by legitimate succession, 
should discharge the ministry of the word, promising to be 
with them " all days, even to the consummation of the world." 

(12) 

Peculiar As this preaching of the divine word should never be mter- 
necessity rU p te( ] i n the Church of God, so in these our days it becomes 
instruction necessary to labour with more than ordinary zeal and piety to 
days!' 1686 n urture and strengthen the faithful with sound and wholesome 
doctrine as with the food of life : for "false prophets have gone 
"forth into the world" (13) "with various and strange doc- 
trines" (14) to corrupt the minds of the faithful; of whom the 



1. 2. 



(4) Rom. x. 14, 15. (5) Heb. i. 1 . (6 I Is xlix. 6. (7) Heb. 

(8) 2 Pet. i. 17. (9) Eph. iv. 11. (10) Eph. ii. 22. (1 1) Luke x. 16. 

(12) Matt, xxviii. 20. (13) 1 John, iv. 1. (14) Heb. xi... 9. 



PREFACE. 15 

Lord hath said " I sent them not, and they ran; I spoke not to Activity of 
them, "yet they prophesied. "(15) In this unholy work, to such formers." 
extremes has their impiety, practised in all the arts of Satan, 
been carried, that it would seem almost impossible to confine it 
within bounds ; and did we not rely on the splendid promises 
of the Saviour, who declared that he had built his Church on so 
solid a foundation, that the gates of hell should never prevail 
against it, (16) we should be filled with most alarming appre- 
hension lest, beset on every side by such a host of enemies, assail- 
ed by so many and such formidable engines, the Church of God 
should, in these days, fall beneath their combined efforts. To 
omit those illustrious states which heretofore professed, in pie- 
ty and holiness, the Catholic faith transmitted to them by their 
ancestors, but are now gone astray, wandering from the paths 
of truth, and openly declaring that their best claims to piety 
are founded on a total abandonment of the faith of their fathers : 
there is no region however remote, no place however securely 
guarded, no corner of the Christian republic, into which this 
pestilence has not sought secretly to insinuate itself. Those, 
who proposed to themselves to corrupt the minds of the faith- 
ful, aware that they could not hold immediate personal inter- 
course with all, and thus pour into their ears their poisoned 
doctrines, by adopting a different plan, disseminated error and 
impiety more easily and extensively. Besides those volumin- 
ous works, by which they sought the subversion of the Catho- 
lic faith ; to guard against which, however, containing, as they 
did, open heresy, required, perhaps, little labour or circum- 
spection; they also composed innumerable smaller books, 
which, veiling their errors under the semblance of piety, de- 
ceived with incredible facility the simple and the incautious. 

The Fathers, therefore, of the general Council of Trent, 
anxious to apply some healing remedy to an evil of such mag- authority 
nitude, were not satisfied with having decided the more import- of £ ns 
ant points of Catholic doctrine against the heresies of our times, 
but deemed it further necessary to deliver some fixed form of 
instructing the faithful in the truths of religion from the very 
rudiments of Christian knowledge ; a form to be t followed by 
those to whom are lawfully intrusted the duties of pastor and 

(15) Jerem. xxiii. 21. (16) Matt. xvi. 18. 



r 



16 PREFACE. 

teacher. In works of this sort many, it is true, have already 
employed their pens, and earned the reputation of great piety 
and learning. The Fathers, however, deemed it of the first 
importance that a work should appear, sanctioned by the au- 
thority of the Holy Synod, from which pastors and all others 
on whom the duty of imparting instruction devolves may draw 
with security precepts for the edification of the faithful ; that 
. as there is " one Lord, one Faith," (17) there may also be one 
standard and prescribed form of propounding the dogmas of 
faith, and instructing Christians in all the duties of piety. 
Its subject As, therefore, the design of the work embraces a variety of 
ma er ' matter, the Holy Synod cannot be supposed to have intended 
to comprise, in one volume, all the dogmas of Christianity, with 
that minuteness of detail to be found in the works of those who 
profess to treat of all the institutions and doctrines of religion. 
Such a task would be one of almost endless labor, and mani- 
festly, ill-suited to attain the proposed end. But, having un- 
dertaken to instruct pastors and such as have care of souls in 
those things that belong peculiarly to the pastoral office and 
are accommodated to the capacity of the faithful ; the Holy 
Synod intended that such things only should be treated of as 
might assist the pious zeal of pastors in discharging the duty 
of instruction, should they not be very familiar with the more 
abstruse questions of theological disputation. 
Principal Such being the nature and object of the present work, its 
bedteery- order requires that, before we proceed to develope those things 
ed by the severally which comprise a summary of this doctrine, we pre- 
communi- mise a few observations explanatory of the considerations which 
stmcfion! 1 " should form the primary object of the pastor's attention, and 
which he should keep continually before his eyes, in order to 
know to what end, as it were, all his views and labors and stu- 
dies are to be directed, and how this end, which he proposes to 
himself, may be facilitated and attained. 
First. The first is always to recollect that in this consists all Chris- 

tian knowledge, or rather, to use the words of the Apostle, 
" this is eternal life, to know thee, the only true God, and Je- 
"sus Christ whom thou hast sent." (18) A teacher in the 
Church will, therefore, use his best endeavours that the faith- 

(l7)Eph. iv. 5. (18) John, xvii. 3. 



PREFACE. 17 

ful desire earnestly "to know Jesus Christ and him crucified," 
(1 9) that they be firmly convinced, and with the most heart-felt 
piety and devotion believe, that u there is no other name under 
" heaven given to men whereby they can be saved," (20) " for 
" he is the propitiation for our sins." (21) 

But as "by this we know that we have known him, if we Second. 
" keep his commandments," (22) the next consideration, and one 
intimately connected with the preceding, is — to press also upon 
their attention that their lives are not to be wasted in ease and 
indolence, but that " we are to walk even as Christ walked," 
(23) " and pursue" with unremitting earnestness, "justice, god- 
" liness, faith, charity, patience, mildness :" (24) for, " he gave 
" himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
" might cleanse to himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of 
" good works." (25) These things the Apostle commands pas- 
tors " to speak and to exhort." 

But as our Lord and Saviour has not only declared, but has Third 
also proved by his own example, that " the Law and the Pro- 
" phets depend on love," (26) and as, according to the Apos- 
tle, charity is the end of the commandments, and the fulfilment 
of the law, (27) it is unquestionably a paramount duty of the 
pastor, to use the utmost assiduity to excite the faithful to a love 
of the infinite goodness of God towards us ; that burning with 
a sort of divine ardor, they may be powerfully attracted to the 
supreme and all perfect good, to adhere to which is true and 
solid happiness, as is fully experienced by him who can say 
with the prophet : " What have I in heaven but thee ? and be- 
" sides thee what do I desire upon earth ?" (28) This, assured- 
ly, is that more excellent way (29) pointed out by the Apostle, 
when he refers all his doctrines and instructions to charity, 
" which never faileth ;" (30) for whatever is proposed by the 
pastor, whether it be the exercise of faith, of hope, or of some 
moral virtue ; the love of God should be so strongly insisted 
upon by him, as to shew clearly that all the works of perfect 
Christian virtue can have no other origin, no other end than di- 
vine love. (31) 

(19) 1 Cor. ii. 2. (20) Acts, iv. 12. (21) 1 John, ii. 2. (22) 1 John, ii. 3. 

(23) 1 John, ii. 6. (24) 1 Tim. vi. 11. (25) Tit. ii. 14. (26) Mat. xxii. 40. 

(27) 1 Tim. i. 5. Rom. xiii. 8. (28) Psal. lxxii. 25. (29) 1 Cor. xii. 31. 
(30) 1 Cor. xiii. 8. (31)1 Cor. xvi. 14. 



18 PREFACE. 

Fourth. But as in imparting instruction of any sort, the manner of 
communicating it is of considerable importance, so in convey- 
ing instruction to the people, it should be deemed of the great- 
est moment.— Age, capacity, manners and condition demand 
attention, that he who instructs may become all things to all 
men, and be able to gain all to Christ, (32) and prove himself 
a faithful minister and steward, (33) and like a good and faith- 
ful servant, be found worthy to be placed by his Lord over 
many things. (34) Nor let him imagine that those committed 
to his care are all of equal capacity or like dispositions, so as to 
enable him to apply the same course of instruction, to lead all 
to knowledge and piety ; for some are, " as it were, new-born 
" infants," (35) others grown up in Christ, and others, in some 
sort, of full maturity. Hence the necessity of considering who 
they are that have occasion for milk, who for more solid food, 
(36) and of affording to each such nutriment of doctrine as may 
give spiritual increase, " until we all meet in the unity of faith 
" and of the knowledge of the Son of God into a perfect man, 
" into the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ." (37) This 
the example of the Apostle points out to the observance of all, 
for, " he is a debtor to the Greek and the Barbarian, to the 
" wise and to the unwise :" (38) thus giving all who are called 
to this ministry, to understand that in announcing the mysteries 
of faith, and inculcating the precepts of morality, the instruction 
is to be accommodated to the capacity and intelligence of the 
hearers; that, whilst the minds of the strong are filled with spi- 
ritual food, the little ones be not suffered to perish with hun- 
ger, "asking for bread, whilst there is none to break it to 
"them." (39) 

Fifth. N or should our zeal in communicating Christian knowledge 

be relaxed, because it is sometimes to be exercised in expound- 
ing matters apparently humble and unimportant, and, therefore, 
comparatively uninteresting to minds accustomed to repose in 
the contemplation of the more sublime truths of religion. If 
the wisdom of the eternal Father descended upon the earth in 
the meanness of our flesh, to teach us the maxims of a heaven- 

(32) 1 Cor. ix. 22. (33) 1 Cor. iv. 1, 2. (34) Math. xxv. 23. 

(35) 1 Pet. ii. 2. (36) 1 Cor. Hi. 2. Heb. v. 12. (37) Eph. iv. 13. 
(38) Rom. i. 14. (39) Heb. v. 14. Lamen. iv. 4. 



PREFACE. 19 

]y life, who is there whom the love of Christ does not compel 
(40) to become little in the midst of his brethren; and, as a 
nurse fostering her children, so anxiously to wish for the sal- 
vation of his neighbour, that, as the Apostle testifies of himself, 
he desires to deliver not only the Gospel of Jesus Christ to 
them, but even his own life for them. (41) 

But all the doctrines of Christianity, in which the faithful where the 
are to be instructed, are derived from the word of God, which ^ c Jj°J s ti . 
includes Scripture and Tradition. To the study of these, there- anity aie 
fore, the pastor should devote his days and his nights, always 
keeping in mind the admonitions of St. Paul to Timothy, which 
all who have the care of souls should consider as addressed to 
themselves : " Attend to reading, to exhortation, and to doc- 
" trine, (42) for all Scripture divinely inspired, is profitable to 
" teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice, that the 
" man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work." 
(43) 

But as the truths revealed by Almighty God, are so many, Division of 
and so various, as to render it no easy task to comprehend 
them, or having comprehended them, to retain so distinct a re- 
collection of them as to be able to explain them with ease and 
promptitude when occasion may require ; our predecessors in 
the faith have very wisely reduced them to these four heads — 
The Apostle's Creed — The Sacraments — The ten Command- 
ments — and the Lord's Prayer. The Creed contains all that First Part. 
is to be held according to the discipline of the Christian faith, 
whether it regard the knowledge of God, the creation and go- 
vernment of the world ; or the redemption of man, the rewards 
of the good and the punishments of the wicked. The doctrine Second 
of the seven Sacraments comprehends the signs, and, as it were, Part - 
the instruments of grace. The Decalogue, whatever has re- TnirdPart 
ference to the law, " the end whereof is charity." (44) Final- Fourth 
ly, the Lord's Prayer contains whatever can be the object of Part. 
the Christian's desires, or hopes, or prayers. The exposition, 
therefore, of these, as it were, common places of sacred Scrip- 
ture, includes almost every thing to be known by a Christian. 
We, therefore, deem it proper to acquaint pastors that, when- 

(40) 2 Cor. v. 14. (41) 1 Thcss. ii. 7, 8. (42) 1 Tim. iv. 13. 

(43) 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. (44) 1 Tim. i. 5. 



20 PREFACE. 

Appiica- over they have occasion, in the ordinary discharge of their du- 

tionuftlie J '»■.«, i c 

Catechism ty, to expound any passage of the Gospel or any other part ot 
pef'oMiie" Scripture, they will find its substance under some one of the 
Sunday, four heads already enumerated, to which they will recur, as the 
source from which their exposition is to be drawn. Thus, if 
the Gospel of the first Sunday of Advent is to be explained, 
" There shall be signs in the sun and in the moon," &c. (45) 
whatever regards its explanation is contained under the article 
of the Creed, " He shall come to judge the living and the dead," 
and by embodying the substance of that article in his exposi- 
tion, the pastor will at once instruct his people in the creed and 
in the Gospel. Whenever, therefore, he has to communicate 
instruction and expound the Scriptures, he will observe the 
same rule of referring all to these four principal heads, which, 
as we have already observed, comprise the whole force and 
doctrine of Holy Scripture. 
Why it be- He will, however, observe that order which he deems best 
gins with suited to persons, times and circumstances. Walking in the 

the expla- ... - . 

nation of footsteps of the Fathers, who to initiate men in Christ the 
ree ' Lord and instruct them in his discipline begin with the doctrine 
of faith, we have deemed it useful to explain first in order what 
appertains to faith. 
Faith,how As the word faith has a variety of meanings in the Sacred 
here . °° Scriptures, it may not be unnecessary to observe that here we 
speak of that faith by which we yield our entire assent to what- 
ever has been revealed by Almighty God. That faith thus 
understood is necessary to salvation no man can reasonably 
doubt, particularly as the Sacred Scriptures declare that 
" Without faith it is impossible to please God." (46) For as 
the end proposed to man as his ultimate happiness is far above 
the reach of the human understanding, it was, therefore, neces- 
sary that it should be made known to him by Almighty God. — 
This knowledge is nothing else than faith, by which we yield 
our unhesitating assent to whatever the authority of our Holy 
Mother the Church teaches us to have been revealed by Al- 
mighty God: for the faithful cannot doubt those things of 
which God, who is truth itself, is the author. Hence we see 
the great difference that exists between this faith which we 

(45) Luke jad. 2b. (46) Heb. xi. 6. 



PREFACE. 21 

give to God, and the credence which we yield to profane his- 
torians. But faith, though comprehensive, and diifering in de- 
gree and dignity, [for we read in Scripture these words "O 
thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt," (47) and " great is 
"thy faith," (48) and " Increase our faith," (49) also "Faith 
" without works is dead," (50) and " Faith which worketh by 
" charity ;"] (51) is yet the same in kind, and the full force of 
its definition applies equally to all its degrees. Its fruit and 
advantages to us, we shall point out when explaining the arti- 
cles of the creed. The first, then, and most important points 
of Christian faith are those which the holy Apostles, the great 
leaders and teachers of the faith, men inspired by the Holy 
Ghost, have divided into the twelve articles of the Creed : for The Creed 
as they had received a command from the Lord to go forth wh ^ , co , ra * 

r ° posed by 

" into the whole world," as his ambassadors, and preach the the Apos- 
Gospel to every creature, (52) they thought proper to compose 
a form of Christian faith, (i that all may speak and think the 
" same thing ;" (53) and that amongst those whom they should 
have called to the unity of faith, no schisms should exist ; but 
that they should be perfect in the same mind, and in the same 
spirit. This profession of Christian faith and hope, drawn up 
by themselves, the Apostles called a " symbol," either because 
it was an aggregate of the combined sentiments of all ; or be- 
cause, by it, as by a common sign and watch-word, they might 
easily distinguish false brethren, deserters from the faith 
" unawares brought in," (54) " who adulterated the word of 
" God," (55) from those who had pledged an oath of fidelity 
to serve under the banner of Christ. 

(47) Math. xiv. 31. (48) Math. xv. 28. (49) Luke, xvii. 5. 

(50) James ii. 17. (51)Gal. v. 6. (52) 2 Cor. v. 18, 19, 20. Mark, xvi. 15. 
(53) 1 Cor. i. 10. (54) Gal. ii. 4. (55) 2 Cor. ii. 17. 



THE 

CATECHISM 

OF 

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



PART I. 

ON THE TWELVE ARTICLES OF THE CREED. 



ARTICLE I. 

" I BELIEVE IN GOD, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF 
HEAVEN AND EARTH." 

Amongst the many truths which Christianity proposes to Division of 
our belief, and of which, separately, or collectively, an assured 
and firm faith is necessary, the first, and one essential to be 
believed by all, is that which God himself has taught us as the 
foundation of truth, and which is a summary of the unity of the 
divine essence, of the distinction of three persons, and of the 
actions which are peculiarly attributed to each. The pastor 
will inform the people that the Apostle's Creed briefly compre- 
hends the doctrines of this mystery. For as has been observ- 
ed by our predecessors in the faith, who, in treating this sub- 
ject, have given proofs at once of piety and accuracy, the Creed 
seems to be divided into three principal parts, one describing 
the first Person of the divine nature, and the stupendous work 
of the creation — another, the second Person, and the mystery 
of man's redemption — a third, comprising in several most ap- 
propriate sentences, the doctrine of the third Person, the head 
and source of our sanctification. These sentences are called 



24 THE CATECHISM OF 

articles, by a sort of comparison frequently used by our forefa- 
thers ; for as the members of the body are divided by joints, 
(articulis) so in this profession of faith, whatever is to be believ- 
ed distinctly and separately from any thing else, is appositely 
called an article. 
Import of " I believe in God"] The meaning of these words is this : 
" I beHeve I believe with certainty, and without a shadow of doubt profess 
" in God." mv belief i n God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, who 
by his omnipotence created from nothing, preserves and governs 
the heavens and the earth, and all things which they encom- 
pass : and not only do I believe in him from my heart, and pro- 
fess this belief with my lips, but with the greatest ardor and 
piety tend towards him, as the supreme and most perfect good. 
Let it suffice thus briefly to state the substance of this first arti- 
cle : but as great mysteries lie concealed under almost every 
word, the pastor must now give them a more minute consider- 
ation, in order that, as far as God has permitted, the faithful 
may approach, with fear and trembling, the contemplation of 
the glory of the divine Majesty. 

The word " believe," therefore, does not here mean " to 
think," " to imagine," " to be of opinion," but, as the Sacred 
Scriptures teach, it expresses the deepest conviction of the 
mind, by which we give a firm and unhesitating assent to God 
revealing his mysterious truths. As far therefore, as regards 
the use of the word here; he, who firmly and without hesita- 
tion is convinced of any thing, is said "to believe." (1) Nor 

Certainty i s the knowledge derived through faith to be considered less 
ot v aim. 

certain, because its objects are not clearly comprehended ; for 

the divine light in which we see them, although it does not 
render them evident, yet sheds around them such a lustre as 
leaves no doubt on the mind regarding them, " For God, who 
" commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shone in 
" our hearts," (2) " that the Gospel be not hidden to us, as to 
" those that perish." (3) 
Excludes From what has been said, it follows that he, who is gifted 
cunoslty * with this heavenly knowledge of faith, is free from an inquisi- 
tive curiosity: for when God commands us to believe, he does 
not propose to us to search into his divine judgments, or in- 

(1) Rom. iv. 18. 21. (2) 2 Cor. iv. 6. (3) Ibid. v. 3. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 25 

quire into their reasons and their causes, but demands an immu- 
table faith, by the efficacy of which, the mind reposes in the 
knowledge of eternal truth. And indeed, if, whilst we have the 
testimony of the Apostle, that " God is true and every man a 
liar :" (4) it would argue arrogance and presumption to disbe- 
lieve the asseveration of a grave and sensible man affirming any 
thing as true, and urge him to support his asseveration by rea- 
sons and authorities ; what temerity and folly does it not argue 
in those, who hear the words of God himself, to demand rea- 
sons for the heavenly and saving doctrines which he reveals ? 
Faith, therefore, excludes not only all doubt, but even the de- 
sire of subjecting its truths to demonstration. 

But the pastor should also teach, that he who says, " I be- Open pro- 
" lieve," besides declaring the inward assent of the mind, which 
is an internal act of faith, should also openly and with alacrity 
profess and proclaim what he inwardly and in his heart believes : 
for the faithful should be animated by the same spirit that spoke 
by the lips of the prophet, when he said : " I believe and there- 
fore did I speak," (5) and should follow the example of the 
Apostles who replied to the princes of the earth : " We cannot 
" but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (6) This 
spirit should be excited within us by these admirable words of 
St. Paul : "lam not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power 
" of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth;" (7) sen- 
timents which derive additional force from these words of the 
same Apostle : " With the heart we believe unto justice ; but 
" with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (8) 

" In God"] From these words we may learn, how exalted Christian 
are the dignity and excellence of Christian philosophy, and what philosophy 
a debt of gratitude we owe to the divine goodness ; we to whom human 
it is given at once to soar on the wings of faith to the know- wisdom - 
ledge of a being surpassing in excellence and in whom all our 
desires should be concentrated. For in this Christian philoso- 
phy and human wisdom differ much, that guided solely by the 
light of nature, and having made gradual advances by reasoning 
on sensible objects and effects, human wisdom, after long and 
laborious investigation, at length reaches with difficulty the con- 

(4) Rom. iii. 4. (5) Ps. cxv. 1. (6) Acts, iv. 20. 

(7) Rom. i. 16. (8) Rom. x. 10. 



26 THE CATECHISM OF 

templation of the invisible things of God, discovers and under- 
stands the first cause and author of all things : whilst on the con- 
trary Christian philosophy so enlightens and enlarges the hu- 
man mind, that at once and without difficulty it pierces the hea- 
vens, and illumined with the splendors of the divinity contem- 
plates first the eternal source of light, and in its radiance all 
created things ; so that with the Apostle we experience with the 
most exquisite pleasure, " and believing rejoice with joy un- 
" speakable," (9) that " we have been called out of darkness 
"into his admirable light." (10) Justly therefore do the faith- 
ful profess first to believe in God, whose majesty with the pro- 
phet Jeremiah, we declare "incomprehensible," (11) for, as 
the Apostle says, " He dwells in light inaccessible, which no 
" man hath seen or can see :" (12) and speaking to Moses, he 
himself said " No man shall see my face and live." (13) The 
mind, to be capable of rising to the contemplation of the Deity 
whom nothing approaches in sublimity, must be entirely disen- 
gaged from the senses ; and this the natural condition of man in 
the present life renders impossible. 
Human "God," however, "left not himself without testimony; do- 
however, " in S g°°d fr° m heaven ; giving rains and fruitful seasons, fill- 
capable of « j n „ our hearts with food and gladness." (14) Hence it is that 

attaining a ° . 

knowledge philosophers conceived no mean idea of the Divinity ; ascribed 
from °his to mm nothing corporeal, nothing gross, nothing compound ; 
works. considered him the perfection and fulness of all good, from 
whom, as from an eternal, inexhaustible fountain of goodness 
and benignity, flows every perfect gift to all creatures ; called 
him the wise, the author of truth, the loving, the just, the most 
beneficent ; gave him, also, many other appellations expressive 
of supreme and absolute perfection ; and said that his immen- 
sity filled every place, and his omnipotence extended to every 
thing. This the Sacred Scriptures more clearly express, and 
more fully develope, as in the following passages : " God is a 
" spirit ;" (15) " Be ye perfect, even as your Father, who is in 
" heaven, is also perfect ;" (16) " all things are naked and open 
" to his eyes ;" (17) "Oh ! the depth of the riches of the wis- 
" dom and of the knowledge of God ;" (18)" God is true ;" (19) 

(9)iPet.i. 8. (10) 1 Pet. ii. 9. (11) Jerem. xjsxii. 19. (12) 1 Tim. vi. 16. 
( 13) Exod. xxxiii. 10. (14) Acts, xiv. 16. (15) John iv. 24. 

(16) Math. v. 48. (17) Heb. iv. 13. (18) Rom. xi. 33. (19) Rom. iii. 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 27 

" I am the way, the truth and the life ;" (20) " Thy right hand 
" is full of justice ;" (21) " Thou openest thy hand, and fillest 
" with blessing - every living 1 creature ;" (22) and finally : " Whi- 
" ther shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy 
" face ? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there ; if I descend in- 
" to hell thou art there ; if 1 take wing in the morning, and 
" dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ; even there also shall 
" thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me, &c." 
(23) and " Do I not fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?" (24) 
These are great and sublime truths regarding the nature of 
God; and of these truths philosophers attained a knowledge, 
which, whilst it accords with the authority of the inspired vo- 
lume, results from the investigation of created things. 

But we must, also, see the necessity of divine revelation, ifTheknow- 
we reflect that not only does faith, as we have already observ- r i ve d from 
ed, make known at once to the rude and unlettered those Jjj* ™™ 
truths, a knowledge of which philosophers could attain only by secure, 
long and laborious study ; but also impresses this knowledge 
with much greater certainty and security against all error, than 
if it were the result of philosophical enquiry. But how much 
more exalted must not that knowledge of the Deity be consid- 
ered, which cannot be acquired in common by all from the con- 
templation of nature, but is the peculiar privilege of those who 
are illumined by the light of faith ? 

This knowledge is contained in the articles of the Creed, 
which disclose to us the unity of the divine essence, and the 
distinction of three persons ; and also that God is the ultimate 
end of our being, from whom we are to expect the fruition of 
the eternal happiness of heaven : for we have learned from St. 
Paul, that " God is a rewarder of them that seek him." (25) 
The greatness of these rewards, and whether they are such as 
that human knowledge could aspire to their attainment, (26) 
we learn from these words of Isaias uttered long before those 
of the Apostle : " From the beginning of the world they have 
" not heard, nor perceived with the ears : without thee, O God, 
" the eye hath not seen what things thou hast prepared for them 
that wait for thee." (27) 

(20) John xiv. 6. (21) Ps. xlvii. 11. (22) Pg. cxliv. 16. 

(23) Ps. cxxxviii. 7, 8, 9, 10, &c. (24) Jer. xxiii. 24. (25) Heb. xi. 6. 
(26) 1 Cor. ii. 9-14. (27) Isa. lxiv. 4. 



28 THE CATECHISM OF 

Unity of From what has been said, it must also be confessed that there 
is but one God, not many Gods ; for as we attribute to God su- 
preme goodness and infinite perfection, it is impossible that 
what is supreme and most perfect could be common to many. 
If a being want any thing that constitutes this supreme perfec- 
tion, it is therefore imperfect and cannot be endowed with Ihe 
nature of God. This is also proved from many passages of the 
Sacred Scripture ; for it is written, " Hear, O Israel, the Lord 
" our God is one Lord:" (28) again, "Thou shalt not have 
"strange gods before me," (29) is the command of God: and 
again he often admonishes us by the prophet " I am the first, 
" and 1 am the last, and besides me there is no God." (30) The 
Apostle also expressly declares: "one Lord, one faith, one 
" baptism." (31) It should not, however, excite our surprise 
if the Sacred Scriptures sometimes give the name of God to 
creatures: (32) for when they call the prophets and judges 
gods, they do so not after the manner of the Gentiles who, in 
their folly and impiety, formed to themselves many gods ; but 
in order to express, by a manner of speaking then not unusual, 
some eminent quality or function conferred on them by the di- 
vine munificence. Christian faith, therefore, believes and pro- 
fesses, as is declared in the Nicene Creed in confirmation of this 
truth, that God in his nature, substance and essence is one ; but 
soaring still higher it so understands him to be one that it adores 
unity in trinity and trinity in unity. Of this mystery we now 
proceed to speak, as it comes next in order in the Creed. 
Propriety "The Father"] As God is called " Father" for more 

of the word . . 

«' Father," reasons than one, we must first determine the strictly appropn- 
T G P d atec ' meamn S °f th e word in the present instance. Some also 
on whom the light of faith never shone, conceive God to be an 
eternal substance from whom all things had their beginning, by 
whose providence they are governed and preserved in their 
order and state of existence. As, therefore, he, to whom a 
family owes its origin and by whose wisdom and authority it 
is governed, is called a Father; so by analogy from things hu- 
man, God was called Father, because acknowledged to be the 
creator and governor of the universe. The Sacred Scriptures 
also use the same appellation, when, speaking of God, they 

(28) Deut. vi. 4. (29) Exod. xx. 3. (30) Is. xliv. 6. xlviii. 12. 

(31) Eph. iv. 5. (32) Ps. Ixxxi. 1. Exod. xxii. 28. 1 Cor. viii. 5. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 29 

declare that to him the creation of all things, power, and ad- 
mirable providence, are to be ascribed : for we read, " Is not 
" he thy Father that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and 
" created thee ?" (33) And again, " Have we not all one Fa- 
" ther ? Hath not one God created us ?" (34) 

But God, particularly in the New Testament, is much more ^ ia \ n a 
frequently, and in some sense peculiarly called the Father of manner 
Christians, who " have not received the spirit of bondage in ther" of 
" fear, but have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby Cnnstians - 
" they cry abba Father;" (35) "for the Father hath bestowed 
"on us that manner of charity, that we should be called, and 
" be the sons of God :" (36) " and if sons, heirs also, heirs, in- 
" deed, of God, and joint-heirs with Christ," (37) " who is the 
"first-born amongst many brethren, (38) for which cause he 
"is not ashamed to call them brethren." (39) Whether, there- 
fore, we look to the common title of creation and conservation ; 
or to the special one of spiritual adoption, the term " Father," 
as applied to God by Christians, is alike appropriate. 

But the pastor will teach the faithful that, on hearing the Tta name 
word " Father," besides the ideas already unfolded, their minds ther" im- 
should rise to the contemplation of more exalted mysteries. — P 11 ?^ P 1 "" 
Under the name of " Father," the divine oracles begin to un- persons, 
veil to us a mysterious truth which is more abstruse, and more 
deeply hidden in that inaccessible light in which God dwells — 
a mysterious truth which human reason not only could not 
reach, but even conceive to exist. This name implies, that in The Tri- 
the one essence of the Godhead is proposed to our belief, not mty- 
only one person, but a distinction of persons : for in one Divine 
nature there are three persons ; the Father, begotten of none ; 
the Son, begotten of the Father before all ages ; the Holy Ghost, 
proceeding from the Father and the Son from all eternity. 

But in the one substance of the Divinity the Father is the TheFather 
first person, who with his only begotten Son and the Holy p erson , 
Ghost is one God and one Lord, not in the singularity of one 
person, but in the trinity of one substance. These three per- 
sons, (for it would be impiety to assert that they are unlike or 
unequal in any thing) are understood to be distinct only in their 
peculiar relations. The Father is unbegotten, the Son begot- 

(33) Deut. xxxii. 6. (34) Mai. ii. 10. (36) Rom. viii. 15. (36) 1 John, iii. I. 
(87) Rom. viii. 17. (38) Rom. viii. 29. (39) Heb. ii. 1 1. 



30 THE CATECHISM OF 

ten of the Father, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from both ; 
and we confess the essence of the three Persons, their sub- 
stance, to be so the same, that we believe that, in the confession 
of the true and eternal God, we are piously and religiously to 
adore distinction in the Persons, unity in the essence and equali- 
ty in the Trinity. When we say that the Father is the first 
person, we are not to be understood to mean that in the Trinity 
there is any thing first or last, greater or less — let no Chris- 
tian be guilty of such impiety, for Christianity proclaims the 
same eternity, the same majesty of glory in the three Persons 
— but the Father, because the beginning without a beginning, 
we truly and unhesitatingly affirm to be the first person, who, as 
he is distinct from the others by his peculiar relation of pater- 
nity, so of him alone is it true that he begot the Son from eter- 
nity : for, when in the Creed we pronounce together the words 
" God" and " Father," it intimates to us that he is God and Fa- 
ther from eternity. 
Curiosity But as in nothing is a too curious enquiry more dangerous, 
ed frfexa- or error more fatal, than in the knowledge and exposition of 
mining the this, the most profound and difficult of mysteries, let the pas- 
theTrinity. tor instruct the people religiously to retain the terms used to 
express this mystery, and which are peculiar to the essence and 
person ; and let the faithful know that unity belongs to essence, 
and distinction to Persons. But these are truths which should 
not be made matter of too subtle disquisition, when we recol- 
lect that " he, who is a searcher of majesty, shall be overwhelm- 
" ed by glory." (40) We should be satisfied with the assur- 
ance which faith gives us, that we have been taught these truths 
by God himself; and to dissent from his oracles is the extreme 
of folly and misery. He has said : " Teach ye all nations, bap- 
" tising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
"the Holy Ghost;" (41) and again, "there are three who 
" give testimony in heaven; the Father, the Word, and the 
" Holy Ghost ; and these three are one." (42) Let him, how- 
ever, who by the divine bounty believes these truths, constant- 
ly beseech and implore God, and the Father, who made all 
things out of nothing, and orders all things sweetly, who gave 
us power to become the sons of God, and who made known to 

(40) Prov. xxv. 27. (41) Math, xxviii. 19. (42) 1 John, v. 7. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 3{ 

us the mystery of the Trinity; that admitted, one day, into the 
eternal tabernacles, he may be worthy to see how great is the 
fecundity of the Father, who, contemplating and understand- 
ing himself, begot the Son like and equal to himself; how a 
love of charity in both, entirely the same and equal, which is 
the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, con- 
nects the begetting and the begotten by an eternal and indis- 
soluble bond ; and that thus the essence of the Trinity is one 
and the distinction of the three persons perfect. 

" Almighty"] The Sacred Scriptures, in order to mark Wh the 
the piety and devotion with which the God of holiness is to power and 

m majesty of 

be adored, usually express his supreme power and infinite ma- God are 
jesty in a variety of ways ; but the pastor should impress par- by^m'any 
ticularly on the minds of the faithful, that the attribute of om- names, in 

. , . , , . „ the Sacred 

nipotence is that by which he is most frequently designated. Scriptures. 
Thus he says of himself, " I am the Almighty God ;" (43) and That of 
again, Jacob when sending his sons to Joseph thus prayed for Almighty 
them " May my Almighty God make him favourable to you." quent. 
(44) In the Apocalypse also it is written, " The Lord God, 
" who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty:' 1 '' (45) 
and in another place the last day is called " the day oiAlmigh- 
" ty God." (46) Sometimes the same attribute is expressed in 
many words ; thus : " no word shall be impossible with God :" 
(47) "Is the hand of the Lord unable?" (48) " Thy power is 
" at hand when thou wilt." (49) Many other passages of the 
same import might be adduced, all of which convey the same 
idea which is clearly comprehended under this single word 
" Almighty." By it we understand that there neither is, nor its mean- 
can be imagined any thing which God cannot do ; for he can ing ' 
not only annihilate all created things, and in a moment summon 
from nothing into existence many other worlds — an exercise 
of power which, however great, comes in some degree within 
our comprehension — but he can do many things still greater, of 
which the human mind can form no conception. But though 
God can do all things, yet he cannot lie, or deceive, or be de- 
ceived; he cannot sin, nor be ignorant of any thing, or cease 
to exist. These things are compatible with those beings only 

(43) Gen. xvii. 1. (44) Gen. xliii. 14. (45)Apoc. i. S. (46) Apoc. xvi. 11. 
(41) Luke, i. 37. (48) Num. xi. 23. (49) Wisd. xii. 18. 



32 THE CATECHISM OF 

whose actions are imperfect, and are entirely incompatible with 
the nature of God, whose acts are all-perfect. To be capable of 
these things is a proof of weakness, not of supreme and infinite 
power, the peculiar attribute of God. Thus, whilst we believe 
God to be omnipotent, we exclude from him whatever is not 
intimately connected, and entirely consistent with the perfec- 
tion of his nature. 
Q But the pastor should point out the propriety and wisdom of 

tence, why having omitted all other names of God in the Creed, and of hav- 
attributiof m $ proposed to us that alone of " Almighty as the object of our 
God men- b e ii e f- for by acknowledging God to be omnipotent, we also of 
the Creed, necessity acknowledge him to be omniscient, and to hold all 
things in subjection to his supreme authority and dominion. — 
When we doubt not that he is omnipotent, we must be also con- 
vinced of every thing else regarding him, the absence of which 
would render his omnipotence altogether unintelligible. Be- 
sides, nothing tends more to comfirm our faith, and animate 
our hope, than a deep conviction that all things are possible to 
God : for whatever may be afterwards proposed as an object 
of faith, however great, however wonderful, however raised 
above the natural order, is easily and at once believed, when 
the mind is already imbued with the knowledge of the om- 
nipotence of God. Nay more, the greater the truths which 
the divine oracles announce, the more willingly does the 
mind deem them worthy of belief; and should we expect any 
favour from heaven, we are not discouraged by the greatness 
of the desired boon, but are cheered and confirmedby frequent- 
ly considering, that there is nothing which an omnipotent 
God cannot effect. 
Necessity With this faith, then, we should be specially fortified when- 

of faith in '. , ' _ , 

God " Al- ever we are required to render any extraordinary service to 
migity." our ne ighbour, or see k t obtain by prayer any favour from 
God. Its necessity in the one case, we learn from the Re- 
deemer himself, who, when rebuking the incredulity of the 
Apostles, says to them, "If you have faith as a mustard-seed, 
"you shall say to this mountain, remove from hence thither, 
" and it shall remove ; and nothing shall be impossible to you ;" 
(50) and in the other, from these words of St. James, " Let 

(50) Math. xvii. 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 33 

"him ask in faith, nothing wavering; for he that wavereth is 
"like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by 
" the wind. Therefore, let not that man think that he shall re- 
"ceive any thing of the Lord." (51) This faith brings with it 
also many advantages. It forms us, in the first place, to all hu- 
mility and lowliness of mind, according to these words of the 
Prince of the Apostles : " Be you humbled, therefore, under the 
"inighty hand of God." (52) It also teaches us not to fear 
where there is no cause of fear, but to fear God alone, (53) in 
whose power we ourselves and all that we have are placed ; 
(54) for our Saviour says, " I will show you whom you shall 
"fear; fear ye him, who, after he hath killed, hath power to 
" cast into hell." (55) This faith is, also, useful to enable us'to 
know and exalt the infinite mercies of God towards us : he who 
reflects on the omnipotence of God, cannot be so ungrateful as 
not frequently to exclaim, " He that is mighty hath done great 
" things to me." (56) 

When, however, in this article we call the Father " Almia:h- Not three 

11 ° Almighties 

ty," let no person be led into the error of excluding, therefore, but one 
from its participation the Son and the Holy Ghost. As we say m ' s y ' 
the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Ghost is God, and 
yet there are not three Gods, but one God, so, in like manner, 
we confess that the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and 
the Holy Ghost Almighty, and, yet, there are not three Al- 
mighties, but one Almighty. The Father, in particular, we call 
Almighty, because he is the source of all origin ; as we also at- 
tribute wisdom to the Son, because the eternal word of the Fa- 
ther ; and goodness to the Holy Ghost, because the love of 
both. These, however, and such appellations may be given 
indiscriminately to the three Persons, according to the rule of 
Catholic faith. 

" Creator of Heaven and Earth"] The necessity of From 
having previously imparted to the faithful a knowledge of the Tn^vvhy^ 
omnipotence of God, will appear from what we are now about ^ od made 
to explain with regard to the creation of the world. For when 
already convinced of the omnipotence of the Creator, we more 
readily believe the wondrous production of so stupendous a 

(51) James, i. 6, 7. (52) 1 Pet. v. 6. (53) Ps. xxxii. 3. 33. 10. 

(54) Wisd. vii. 16. (55) Luke, xii. 5. (56) Luke, i. 49. 



* 



34 THE CATECHISM OF 

work. For God formed not the world from materials of any 
sort, but created it from nothing, and that not by constraint or 
necessity, but spontaneously and of his own freewill. Nor 
was he impelled to create by any other cause than a desire to 
communicate to creatures the riches of his bounty; for essen- 
tially happy in himself, he stands not in need of any thing ; as 
David expresses it : " I said to the Lord, thou art my God, for 
" of my goods thou hast no need." (57) But as, influenced by 
his own goodness, " he hath done all things whatsoever he 
" would," (58) so in the work of the creation he followed no 
external form or model ; but contemplating and, as it were, imi- 
tating the universal model contained in the divine intelligence, 
the supreme Architect, with infinite wisdom and power, attri- 
butes peculiar to the Divinity, created all things in the begin- 
ning: "he spoke and they were made, he commanded and they 
" were created." (59) The words " heaven" and " earth," in- 
clude all things which the heavens and the earth contain ; for, 
besides the heavens, which the Prophet called " the work of 
his fingers," (60) he also gave to the sun its brilliancy, and to 
the moon and stars their beauty : and that they may be " for 
" signs and for seasons, for days and for years," (61) he so or- 
dered the celestial bodies in a certain and uniform course, that 
nothing varies more than their continual revolution, yet nothing 
more fixed than that variety. 
Creation of Moreover, he created from nothing spiritual nature, and an- 
Angels. g e ] s innumerable to serve and to minister to him ; and these he 
replenished and adorned with the admirable gifts of his grace 
and power. That the devil and his associates, the rebel angels, 
were gifted at their creation with grace, clearly follows from 
these words of the Sacred Scriptures: " The dsvil stood not in 
" the truth ;" (62) on which subject St. Augustine says, " In 
" creating the angels he endowed them with good will, that is, 
" with pure love, by which they adhere to him, at once giving 
"them existence, and adorning them with rrace." (63) Hence 
we are to believe that the angels were never without "good 
" will," that is, the love of God. As to their knowledge we 
have this testimony of the Holy Scripture : " Thou, Lord, my 

fSI Pa. xv. 2. (5S) Ps. cxiii. 3. (59) Ps. xxxii. 9. cxlviii. 5. 

i 80 , P«. viii. 4. (61) Gen. i. 14. (62) John, viij. 44. 

',' 33) Aug. lib. 12. de Civit. Dei, cap. 9. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 35 

"King, art wise according to the wisdom of an Angel of God, 
" to understand all things upon earth. 1 ' (64) Finally, David as- 
cribes power to them in these words : " Mighty in strength, 
" executing his word :" (65; and on this account, they are of- 
ten called in Scripture the u powers" and " the hosts of heaven." 
But although they were all endowed with celestial gifts, very Their fal1 - 
many, however, having rebelled against God, their Father and 
Creator, were hurled from the mansions of bliss, and shut up in 
the dark dungeons of hell, there to suffer for eternity the pun- 
ishment of their pride. Speaking of them, the Prince of the 
Apostles says : "He spared not the angels that sinned ; but de- 
" livered them, drawn down by infernal ropes, to the lower 
" hell, into torments, to be reserved unto judgment." (66) 

The earth, also, God commanded to stand in the midst of Creation of 
the world, rooted in its own foundation, and "made the moun- 
" tains to ascend, and the plains to descend into the place which 
" he had founded for them." That the waters should not in- 
undate the earth, " he has set abound which they shall not pass 
" over, neither shall they return to cover the earth." (67) He 
next not only clothed and adorned it with trees, and every va- 
riety of herb and flower, but filled it, as he had already filled 
the air and water, with innumerable sorts of living creatures. 

Lastly, he formed man from the slime of the earth, immor- Of Man. 
tal and impassible, not however by the strength of nature, but 
by the bounty of God. His soul he created to his own image 
and likeness ; gifted him with free will, and tempered all his mo- 
tions and appetites, so as to subject them, at all times, to the 
dictate of reason. He then added the invaluable gift of origi- 
nal righteousness, and next gave him dominion over all other 
animals — By referring to the sacred history of Genesis the pas- 
tor will make himself familiar with these things for the in- 
struction of the faithful. 

What we have said, then, of the creation of the universe, is God the 
to be understood as conveyed by the words " heaven and earth," ^ eator 
and is thus briefly set forth by the prophet : " Thine are the 
" heavens, and thine is the earth : the world and the fulness 
" thereof thou hast founded :" (68) and still more briefly by 

(64) 2 Kings, xiv. 20. (65) Ps. cii. 20. (66) 2 Pet. ii. 4. 

(67) Ps. ciii. 8, 9. (68) Ps. lxxxviii. 12. 



36 THE CATECHISM OF 

fhe Fathers of the Council of Nice, who added in their Creed 
these words, " of all things visible and invisible." Whatever 
exists in the universe, and was created by God, either falls 
under the senses, and is included in the word " visible," or is 
an object of perception to the mind, and is expressed by the 
word " invisible." 
™ve?a e nd We are not ' hovvever > to understand that the works of God, 
governor, when once created could continue to exist unsupported by his 
omnipotence : as they derive existence from his supreme pow- 
er, wisdom and goodness, so, unless preserved continually by 
his superintending providence, and by the same power which 
produced them, they would instantly return into their original 
nothing. This the Scriptures declare, when they say, " How 
" could any thing endure, if thou wouldstnot? or be preserved, 
" if not called by thee?" (69) But not only does God protect 
and govern all things by his providence ; but also by an inter- 
nal virtue impels to motion and action whatever moves and acts, 
and this in such a manner, as that although he excludes not, he 
yet prevents the agency of secondary causes. His invisible 
influence extends to all things, and, as the wise man says; "It 
" reacheth from end to end, mightily, and ordereth all things 
" sweetly." (70) This is the reason why the Apostle, an- 
nouncing to the Athenians the God whom not knowing they 
adored, said : " He is not far from every one of us : for in him 
" we live and move and have our being." (7 1 ) 
the work of ^ et ^ us muc ^ sun *i ce f° r tne explanation of the first article 
the three of the Creed : it may not, however, be unnecessary to add that 
the creation is the common work of the three Persons of the 
Holy and undivided Trinity — of the Father, whom, according 
to the doctrine of the Apostles, we here declare to be " Crea- 
"tor of heaven and earth ; — of the Son, of whom the Scrip- 
" ture says, " all things were made by him;" (72) and of the 
Holy Ghost, of whom it is written, " The Spirit of God mov- 
" ed over the waters ;" (73) and again, " By the word of the 
" Lord the heavens were established ; and all the power of 
" them by the Spirit of his mouth." (74) 

(69) Wisdom, xi. 26. (70) Wisdom, viii. 1. (71) Acts, xvii. 27, 28. 
(72) John, i. 3. (73) Gen. i. 2. (.74) Ps. xxxii. 6. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 37 



ARTICLE II. 



" AND IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD. 



That wonderful and superabundant are the blessings which The great 
flow to the human race, from the belief and profession of this ^hichlow 
article we learn from these words of St. John : " Whosoever from th e 
" shall confess that Jesus is the son of God, God abideth in him profession 
" and he in God :" (1) and also from the words of Christ our °f e * his arti " 
Lord, proclaiming the Prince of the Apostles blessed for the 
confession of this truth : " Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona : 
" for flesh and blood have not revealed it to thee, but my Fa- 
" ther who is in heaven." (2) This sublime truth is the most 
firm basis of our salvation and redemption. 

But as the fruit of these admirable blessings is best known by How we 
considering the ruin brought on man, by his fall from that most "estimate 
happy state in which God had placed our first parents, let the their value 
pastor be particularly careful to make known to the faithful, 
the cause of this common misery and universal calamity. When 
Adam had departed from the obedience due to God, and had 
violated the prohibition, " of every tree of Paradise thou shalt 
" eat ; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt 
" not eat, for in what day soever thou shalt eat it, thou shalt 
" die the death ," (3) he fell into the extreme misery of losing 
the sanctity and righteousness in which he was created ; and 
of becoming subject to all those other evils, which are detailed 
more at large by the holy Council of Trent. (4) The pastor, 
therefore, will not omit to remind the faithful, that the guilt 
and punishment of original sin were not confined to Adam, but 
justly descended from him, as from their source and cause, to 
all posterity. The human race, having fallen from their elevat- 
ed dignity, no power of men or angels could raise them from 

(1) 1 John,iv. 15. (2) Math. xvi. 17. (3) Gen. ii. 16, 17. 

(4) Sess. 5. Can. 1 & 2. Sess. 6. Can. 1. & 2. 



t: 



38 THE CATECHISM OF 

their fallen condition, and replace them in their primitive state. 
To remedy the evil, and repair the loss, it became necessary 
that the Son of God, whose merits are infinite, clothed in the 
weakness of our flesh, should remove the infinite weight of sin, 
and reconcile us to God in his blood. 
Belief and The belief and profession of this our redemption, as God 

profession 1 , 

of this arti- declared from the beginning, are now, and always have been, 
jJjJtaS necessary to salvation. In the sentence of condemnation, pro- 
vation. nounced against the human race immediately after the sin of 
Adam, the hope of redemption was held out in these words, 
which denounced to the devil, the loss which he was to sustain 
The pro- \>y man's redemption: " I will put enmities between thee and 
Saviour. " the woman, and thy seed and her seed : she shall crush thy 
" head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." (5) The same 
promise he again often confirmed, and more distinctly signified 
his counsels to those chiefly whom he desired to make special 
objects of his predilection : amongst others to the patriarch 
Abraham, to whom he often declared this mystery, but then 
more explicitly when, in obedience to God's command, he was 
prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac : " Because," says he, " thou 
" hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten 
" son for my sake ; I will bless thee and I will multiply thy 
" seed, as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea 
" shore. Thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies, 
" and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; 
" because thou hast obeyed my voice." (6) From these words 
it was easy to infer that he, who was to deliver mankind from 
the ruthless tyranny of Satan, was to be descended from Abra- 
ham ; and that, whilst he was the Son of God, he was to be born of 
Same pro- the seed of Abraham according to the flesh. Not long after to 
newed 6 " P reserve tne memory of this promise, he renewed the same cov- 
enant with Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. When in a vision 
Jacob saw a ladder standing on the earth, and its top reaching 
to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending by 
it, (7) he also heard the Lord saying to him, as the Scripture 
testifies : "lam the Lord God of Abraham thy Father, and the 
" God of Isaac ; the land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to 
" thee and to thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the 

(5) Gen. iii. 15. (6) Gen. xxii. 16, 17, 18. (7) Gen. xxviii. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 39 

" earth : thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the east, 
" and to the north and to the south ; and in thee and thy seed 
" all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." (8) Nor did 
God cease afterwards to excite in the posterity of Abraham, 
and in many others, the hope of a Saviour, by renewing the re- 
collection of the same promise ; for, after the establishment of 
the Jewish republic and religion, it became better known to his 
people. Many types signified, and prophets foretold the nu- 
merous and invaluable blessings which our Redeemer, Christ 
Jesus, was to bring to mankind. And, indeed, the prophets, 
whose minds were illumined with light from above, foretold 
the birth of the Son of God, the wondrous works which he 
wrought whilst on earth, his doctrine, manners, kindred, death, 
resurrection, and the other mysterious circumstances regarding 
him; (9) and all these as graphically as if they were passing 
before their eyes. With the exception of the time only, we 
can discover no difference between the predictions of the pro- 
phets, and the preaching of the apostles, between the faith of 
the ancient patriarchs, and that of Christians — But, we are now 
to speak of the several parts of this Article. 

" Jesus"] This is the proper name of the man-God, and sig- Meaning 
nifies Saviour ; a name given him not accidentally, or by the name j e - 
judgment or will of man, but by the counsel and command of su ®' b ? , 
God. For the angel announced to Mary his mother : " Behold why given. 
" thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a Son, 
"and thou shalt call his name Jesus.' 1 (10) He afterwards not 
only commanded Joseph, who was espoused to the Virgin, to 
call the child by that name, but also declared the reason why 
he should be so called : " Joseph," says he, " Son of David, 
" fear not to take Mary thy wife, for that which is born in her 
" is of the Holy Ghost; and she shall bring forth a Son, and 
"thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people 
"from their sins." (11) In the Sacred Scriptures we meet 
with many who were called by this name — the son of Nave, 
for instance, who succeeded Moses, and, by special privilege 
denied to Moses, conducted into the land of promise the people 
whom Moses had delivered from Egypt; (12) and Josedech, 

(8) Gen. xxviii. 13, 14. (9) Is. vii. 14. viii. 3. ix. 5. xi. 1-53 per totum. 
Jer. xxiii. 5. xxx. 9. Dan. vii. 13. ix. 24. (10) Luke, i. 31. 

( 1 1) Math. i. 20, 2 1 . (12) Eccl. xlvi. 1 . 



40 THE CATECHISM OF 

whose father was a priest. (13) But how much more appro- 
priately shall we not deem this name given to him, who gave 
light and liberty and salvation, not to one people only, but to all 
men, of all ages — to men oppressed, not by famine, or Egyp- 
tian, or Babylonish bondage, but sitting in the shadow of death 
and fettered by sin, and rivetted in the galling chains of the de- 
vil — to him who purchased for them a right to the inheritance 
of heaven, and reconciled them to God the Father. In those 
men who were designated by the same name, we recognize so 
many types of Christ our Lord, by whom these blessings were 
accumulated on the human race. All other names, which were 
predicted to be given by divine appointment to the Son of God, 
are to be referred to this one name Jesus, (14) for whilst they 
partially glanced at the salvation which he was to purchase for 
us, this fully embraced the universal salvation of the human 
race. 
The name " Christ"] To the name "Jesus" is also added that of 
why added " Christ," which signifies " the anointed ;" a name expressive 
Jesus honor and office, and not peculiar to one thing only, but com- 

mon to many; for, in the old law priests and kings, whom God, 
on account of the dignity of their office, commanded to be an- 
ointed, were called Christs : (15) — Priests, because they com- 
mend the people to God by unceasing prayer, offer sacrifice to 
him and deprecate his wrath. — Kings, because they are intrust- 
ed with the government of the people, and to them principally 
belong the authority of the law, the protection of innocence, 
and the punishment of guilt. As, therefore, both seem to re- 
present the majesty of God on earth, those who were appoint- 
ed to the royal or sacerdotal office, were anointed with oil. (16) 
Prophets also were usually anointed, who, as the interpreters 
and ambassadors of the immortal God, unfolded to us the se- 
crets of heaven, and by salutary precepts, and the prediction of 
future events, exhorted to amendment of life. When Jesus 
Christ our Saviour came into the world, he assumed these three 
characters of Prophet, Priest and King, and is, therefore, call- 
ed " Christ," having been anointed for the discharge of these 
functions, not. by mortal hand, or with earthly ointment, but by 

(13) Agg. i. 1. (14) Is. vii. 14. viii. S. ix. 6. Jer. xxiii. 6. 

(15) 1 Kings, xii. 3. xvi. 6. xxiv. 7. 

(16) Lev. viii. 30. 3 Kings, xix. 15, 16. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 41 

the power of his heavenly Father, and with a spiritual oil ; for 
the plenitude of the Holy Spirit, and a more copious effusion 
of all gifts, than any created being is capable of receiving, were 
poured into his soul. This the prophet clearly indicates, when 
he addresses the Redeemer in these words : " Thou hast lov- 
" ed justice, and hatest iniquity ; therefore God, thy God, 
" hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness before thy fellows." 
(17) The same is also more explicitly declared by the pro 
phet Isaiah : " The Spirit of the Lord," says he, " is upon me, 
" because the Lord hath anointed me ; he hath sent me to preach 
" to the meek." ( 1 8) Jesus Christ, therefore, Was the great 
prophet and teacher, (19) from whom we have learned the will 
of God, and by whom the world has been taught the knowledge 
of the Father ; and the name of Prophet belongs to him pre- 
eminently, because all others who were dignified with that 
name were his disciples, sent principally to announce the com- 
ing of that Prophet who was to save all men. Christ was also 
a Priest, not, indeed of the tribe of Levi, as were the priests of 
the old law, but of that of which the prophet David sang : 
" Thou art a Priest for ever according to the order of Melchi- 
" sedech." (20) This subject the Apostle fully and accurately 
developes in his epistle to the Hebrews. (21) Christ not only 
as God, but as man, we also acknowledge to be a King : of him 
the angel testifies : " He shall reign in the house of Jacob for- 
" ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." (22) This 
kingdom of Christ is spiritual and eternal, begun on earth, but 
perfected in heaven : and, indeed, he discharges by his admi- 
rable providence the duties of King towards his Church, gov- 
erning and protecting her against the open violence and covert 
designs of her enemies, imparting to her not only holiness and 
righteousness, but also power and strength to persevere. But, 
although the good and the bad are contained within the limits 
of this kingdom, and thus all by right belong to it; yet those, 
who, in conformity with his commands, lead unsullied and in- 
nocent lives, experience, beyond all others, the sovereign good- 
ness and beneficence of our King. Although descended from 
the most illustrious race of kings, he obtained not this kingdom 

(17) Ps. xliv. 8. (18) Is. Ixi. 1. (19) Deut. xviii. 15. 

(20) Ps. cix. 4. Heb. v. 5. (21) Heb. v. & vii. ^22) Luke, i. 33. 

6 



42 THE CATECHISM OF 

by hereditary or other human right, but because God bestowed 
on him as man all the power, dignity and majesty of which hu- 
man nature is susceptible. To him, therefore, God delivered 
the government of the whole world, and to this his sovereign- 
ty, which has already commenced, all things shall be made ful- 
ly and entirely subject on the day of judgment. (23) 
Christ the a His only Son"] In these words, mysteries more exalted 
God, and with regard to Jesus are proposed to the faithful, as objects of 
true God. fa e \ r belief and contemplation — that he is the Son of God, and 
true God, as is the Father who begot him from eternity. We 
also confess that he is the second person of the Blessed Trin- 
ity, equal in all things to the Father and the Holy Ghost ; for, 
in the divine Persons nothing unequal or unlike should exist, 
or even be imagined to exist ; whereas we acknowledge the es- 
sence, will and power of all to be one ; a truth clearly revealed 
in many of the oracles of inspiration, and sublimely announced 
in this testimony of St. John : " In the beginning was the Word, 
" and the Word was God, and the Word was with God." (24) 
His eternal But, when we are told that Jesus is the Son of God, we are 

generation not to un( j ers t a nd any thing earthly or mortal of his birth ; but 
mcompre- . 

hensible. are firmly to believe, and piously to adore that birth by which, 
from all eternity, the Father begot the Son ; a mystery which 
reason cannot fully conceive or comprehend, and at the contem- 
plation of which, overwhelmed, as it were, with admiration, 
we should exclaim with the prophet : " Who shall declare his 
" generation ?" (25) On this point, then, we are to believe, 
that the Son is of the same nature, of the same power and wis- 
dom with the Father ; as we more fully profess in these words 
of the Nicene Creed : " And in Jesus Christ, his only begot- 
ten Son, born of the Father before all ages, God of God, true 
" God of true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial to the 
"Father, by whom all things were made." Amongst the dif- 
ferent comparisons employed to elucidate the mode and man- 
ner of this eternal generation, that which is borrowed from 
thought seems to come nearest to its illustration; hence St. 
John calls the Son " the word :" (26) for as the mind, in some 
sort looking into and understanding itself, forms an image of 
itself, which Theologians express by the term " word ;" so 

(23) 1 Cor. 15. 25, 26, 27. (24) John, i. 1. (25) Is. liii. 8. (26) John, i. 1.. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 43 

God, as far, however, as we may compare human things to di- 
vine, understanding himself, begets the eternal Word. Better, 
however, to contemplate what faith proposes, and, in the sin- 
cerity of our souls, believe and confess that Jesus Christ is 
true God and true man— as God, begotten of the Father before 
all ages — as man, born in time of Mary, his virgin mother. 
Whilst we thus acknowledge his twofold nativity, we believe 
him to be one Son, because his divine and human natures meet Hi3 unity 
in one person. As to his divine generation he has no brethren or ° P erson * 
coheirs, being the only begotten Son of the Father, whilst we 
mortals are the work of his hands : but, if we consider his 
birth as man, he not only calls many by the name of brethren, 
but regards them as brethren — they are those who, by faith, 
have received Christ the Lord, and who really, and by works 
of charity, approve the faith which they internally profess ; 
and hence it is that he is called by the Apostle : " the first 
" born amongst many brethren." (27) 

" Our Lord"] Of our Saviour many things are recorded in Why called 
Scripture, some of which clearly apply to him as God, and names" 6 
some as man; because from his different natures he received 
the different properties which belong to each. Hence, we say 
with truth, that Christ is Almighty, Eternal, Infinite, and these 
attributes he has from his divine nature : again, we say of him 
that he suffered, died, and rose again, which manifestly are 
properties compatible only w T ith his human nature. 

Besides these, there are others common to both natures; as why called 
when in this article of the Creed, we say: "our Lord;" a ' ourLord '' 
name strictly applicable to both. As he is eternal as well as 
the Father, so is he Lord of all things equallyjwith the Father ; 
and, as he and the Father are not, the one, one God, and the 
other, another God ; but one and the same God : so likewise 
he and the Father are not, the one, one Lord, and the other, 
another Lord. As man, he is also, for many reasons appro- 
priately called "our Lord;" and first, because he is our Re- 
deemer, who delivered us from sin. This is the doctrine of 
St. Paul : " He humbled himself," says the Apostle, "becom- 
" ing obedient under death ; even to the death of the cross : for 
" Which cause God hath also exalted him, and hath given him 

(27) Rom. viii. 29. 






44 THE CATECHISM OF 

11 a name that is above all names, that at the name of Jesus ev- 
"ery knee should bend, of those that are in heaven, on earth 
" and under the earth; and that every tongue should confess 
" that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. 1 ' 
(28) And of himself he says, after his resurrection : " All 
"power is given me in heaven and on earth." (29) He is, 
also, called " Lord," because in one person both natures, the 
human and divine, are united ; and though he had not died for 
us, he had yet deserved, by this admirable union, to be consti- 
tuted common Lord of all created things, particularly of those 
who, in all the fervor of their souls, obey and serve him. 
Matter for It remains, therefore, that the pastor exhort the faithful to 
supplied by the consideration of these his claims to the title of " our Lord ;" 
thisArticle. j^^ we ^ w ho, taking our name from him are called Christians, 
and who cannot be ignorant of the extent of his favors, partic- 
ularly in having enabled us to understand all these things by 
faith, may know the strict obligation we, above all others, are 
under, of devoting and consecrating ourselves for ever, like 
faithful servants, to our Redeemer and our Lord. This we 
promised when, at the baptismal font, we were initiated and 
introduced into the Church of God ; for we then declared that 
we renounced the devil and the world, and gave ourselves un- 
reservedly to Jesus Christ. But if, to be enrolled as soldiers 
of Christ, we consecrated ourselves by so holy and solemn a 
profession to our Lord, what punishments should we not de- 
serve were we, after our entrance into the Church, and after 
having known the will and laws of God, and received the grace 
of the sacraments, to form our lives upon the laws and maxims 
of the world and the devil ; and if, when cleansed in the waters 
of baptism, we had pledged our fidelity to the world and to the 
devil, and not to Christ our Lord and Saviour ? What heart 
so cold as not to be inflamed with love by the benevolence and 
benificence exercised towards us by so great a Lord, who, 
though holding us in his power and dominion, as slaves ran- 
somed by his blood, yet embraces us with such ardent love as 
to call us not servants, but friends and brethren ?" (30) This, 
assuredly, supplies the most just and, perhaps, the strongest 
claim to induce us always to acknowledge, venerate and adore 
him as our Lord. 

(88) Phil. ii. 8, 9, 10, 11. (29) Mat. xxviii. 18. (30) John, xv. 14. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 45 



ARTICLE III. 



WHO WAS CONCEIVED OF THE HOLY GHOST, BORN OF 
THE VIRGIN MARY." 



" Who was conceived of the Holy Ghost"] — From , Incari J. a " 

J _ tion of the 

what has been said in the preceding Article, the faithful are giv- Son of 
en to understand that, in delivering us from the relentless tyran- 
ny of Satan, God has conferred a singular and invaluable bless- 
ing on the human race : but, if we place before our eyes the 
economy of redemption, in it the goodness and beneficence of 
God shine forth with incomparable splendor and magnificence. 
The pastor, then, will enter on the exposition of this third Ar- 
ticle, by developing the grandeur of this mystery, which the Sa- 
cred Scriptures very frequently propose to our consideration as 
the principal source of our eternal salvation. Its meaning he 
will teach to be, that we believe and confess that the same Je- 
sus Christ, our only Lord, the Son of God, when he assumed 
human flesh for us in the womb of the Virgin, was not conceiv- 
ed, like other men, from the seed of man, but in a manner tran- 
scending the order of nature, that is, by the power of the Holy 
Ghost; (1) so that the same person, remaining God as he was 
from eternity, became man, (2) what he was not before. That 
such is the meaning of these words is clear from the confession 
of the Holy Council of Constantinople, which says : " who for 
" us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and 
" became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and 
" was made man." The same truth we also find unfolded by 
St. John the Evangelist, who imbibed from the bosom of the Sa- 
viour himself, the knowledge of this most profound mystery. 
When he had thus declared the nature of the divine Word : 
" In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 

(1) Math. i. 20. (2) John, i. 14. 



46 THE CATECHISM OF 

" and the Word was God," he concludes, " And the Word was 
" made flesh, and dwelt amongst us." (3) Thus, " the Word," 
which is a person of the divine nature, assumed human nature 
in such a manner that the person of both natures is one and the 
same: and hence this admirable union preserved the actions 
and properties of both natures, and, as we read in St. Leo, that 
great pontiff, " The lowliness of the inferior was not consumed 
" in the glory of the superior, nor did the assumption of the in- 
" ferior diminish the glory of the superior." (4) 
The work But as an explanation of the words, in which this Article is 
but of the expressed, is not to be omitted, the Pastor will teach that when 

sons e ofthe we sa y tliat the ^ on °^ Gocl was conceive( ^ ^J tne P°wer of the 
Trinity. Holy Ghost, we do not mean that this Person alone of the Ho- 
ly Trinity accomplished the mystery of the incarnation. Al- 
though the Son alone assumed human nature, yet all the Persons 
of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, were 
authors of this mystery. It is a principle of Christian faith, that 
whatever God does extrinsically, is common to the three Per- 
sons, and that one neither does more than, nor acts without an- 
other. But that one emanates from another cannot be common 
to all ; for the Son is begotten of the Father only, the Holy 
Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son : but whatever 
proceeds from them extrinsically, is the work of the three Per- 
sons without difference of any sort, and of this latter descrip- 
tion is the incarnation of the Son of God. 
Why spe- Of those things, notwithstanding, that are common to all, the 
tributed to Sacred Scriptures often attribute some to one person, some to 
Ghos^° ly anotner: tllus 5 to tne Father they attribute power over all 
things ; to the Son, wisdom ; to the Holy Ghost love ; and 
hence, as the mystery of the incarnation manifests the singular 
and boundless love of God towards us, it is, therefore, in some 
sort peculiarly attributed to the Holy Ghost. 
In what I n this mystery we perceive that some things were done 

natural, & -, , r 

in what which transcend the order of nature, some by the power of na- 

Bupematu- ture . thu ^ j n bel ; ev i ng tnat the body of Christ was formed from 

the most pure blood of his Virgin Mother, we acknowledge 

the operation of human nature, this being a law common to the 

formation of all human bodies. But what surpasses the order 

(3) John, i. 1-14. (4) Serin, i. de Nat. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 47 

of nature and human comprehension is, that, as soon as the 
Blessed Virgin assented to the announcement of the angel in 
these words, " Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done 
" unto me according to thy word," (5) the most sacred body 
of Christ was immediately formed, and to it was united a ra- 
tional soul ; and thus, in the same instant of time, he was per- 
fect God and perfect man. That this was the astonishing and 
admirable work of the Holy Ghost cannot be doubted ; for ac- 
cording to the order of nature, no body, unless after a certain 
period of time, can be animated with a human soul. 

Again, and it should overwhelm us with astonishment : as The Divi- 

° ' ' nit j united 

soon as the soul of Christ was united to his body, the Divinity to the hu- 
became united to both ; and thus at the same time his body christf ° 
was formed and animated, and the Divinity united to body and 
soul. Hence, at the same instant, he was perfect God and 
perfect man, and the most Holy Virgin, having at the same TheVirgin 
moment, conceived God and man, is truly and properly, called ^ ul y ™°- 
Mother of God and man. This, the Angel signified to her God and 
when he said : " Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and man " 
" shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus ; 
" he shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most 
"High." (6) The event verified the prophecy of Isaiah: 
" Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bring forth a Son." (7) 
Elizabeth also, when filled with the Holy Ghost, she understood 
the conception of the Son of God, declared the same truth in 
these words : " Whence is this to me, that the Mother of my 
" Lord should come to me ?" (8) But, as the body of Christ The soul 
was formed of the pure blood of the immaculate Virgin without of Christ 
the aid of man, as we have already said, and by the sole ope- edfromhis 
ration of the Holy Ghost ; so also, at the moment of his con- conception 
ception, his soul was replenished with an overflowing fulness grace, 
of the Spirit of God, and a superabundance of all graces; for 
God gave not to him, as to others adorned with grace and ho- 
liness, his Spirit by measure, as St. John testifies ; (9) but pour- 
ed into his soul the plenitude of all graces so abundantly, that 
"of his fulness we have all received." (10) 

Although possessing that Spirit by which holy men attained Christ the 
the adoption of sons of God, he cannot, however, be called the j^° 

(5) Luke, i. 38. (6) Luke, i. 31, 32. (7) Isaiah, vii. 14. 

(8) Luke, i. 43. (9) John, iii. 34. (10) John, i. 16. 



Son ofGod 
nature 



' 



48 THE CATECHISM OF 

not by adopted Son of God ; for being the Son of God by nature, the 
grace, or name of adoption can, on no account, be deemed ap- 
plicable to him. 

These heads comprise the substance of what appeared to us 

to demand explanation regarding the admirable mystery of the 

How we conception. To reap from them abundant fruit to salvation, 

fmitunu? ^ e ^ tn ^ u ^ should, particularly recall to their recollection, and 

salvation frequently reflect, that it is God who assumed human flesh : but 

from the , ^ , J ' . . ,,,••/ 

belief of that the manner of its assumption transcends the limits of our 
t lsartlcle - com prehension, no t t sa y f our powers of expression : final- 
ly, that he vouchsafed to become man, in order that we mortals 
may be regenerated children of God. When to these subjects, 
they shall have given mature consideration, let them, in the hu- 
mility of faith, believe and adore all the mysteries contained in 
this Article, nor indulge a curious inquisitiveness by investigat- 
ing and scrutinizing them — an attempt scarcely ever unattended 
with danger. 
Christ " Born of the Virgin Mary"] These words comprise 

Virgin. another part of this Article of the Creed, in the exposition of 
which the pastor should exercise considerable diligence ; be- 
cause the faithful are bound to believe, that Christ our Lord 
was not only conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, but 
was also " born of the Virgin Mary." The words of the An- 
gel, who first announced the happy tidings to the world, de- 
clare with what transports of joy, and emotions of delight, the 
belief of this mystery should be meditated by us : " Behold," 
says he, "I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be 
"to all the people." (11) The song chanted by the heavenly 
host clearly conveys the same sentiments: "Glory," say they, 
" to God in the highest : and on earth, peace to men of good 
" will." (12) Hence, also, began the fulfilment of the splen- 
did promise made by Almighty God to Abraham, that in his 
seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed; (13) for 
JSiary, whom we truly proclaim and venerate as Mother of 
God, because she brought forth him who is, at once, God and 
man, was descended from King David.(14) But as the concep- 
tion itself transcends the order of nature, so also, the birth of 
the man-God presents to our contemplation nothing but what 
is divine. 
(11) Luke, ii. 10. (12) Luke, ii. 14. (13) Gen. xxii. 18. ( 14) Math. i. 1, 6 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 49 

Besides, a circumstance wonderful beyond expression or con- Manner of 
ception, he is born of his Mother without any diminution of her 
maternal virginity ; and as he afterwards went forth from the 
sepulchre whilst it was closed and sealed, and entered the room 
in which his disciples were assembled, " the doors being shut ;" 
(15) or, not to depart from natural events which we witness 
every day, as the rays of the sun penetrate, without breaking 
or injuring, in the least, the substance of glass ; after a like, 
but more incomprehensible manner, did Jesus Christ come 
forth from his mother's womb without injury to her maternal 
virginity, which, immaculate and perpetual, forms the just 
theme of our eulogy. This was the work of the Holy Ghost, 
who, at the conception and birth of the Son, so favoured the 
Virgin Mother as to impart to her fecundity, and yet preserve 
inviolate her perpetual virginity. 

The Apostles, sometimes, calls Jesus Christ the second ^'lired 
Adam, and institutes a comparison between him and the first : to Adam, 
for " as in the first all men die, so in the second all are made Eve. 7 
" alive ;" (16) and as in the natural order, Adam was the father 
of the human race ; so, in the supernatural order, Christ is the 
author of grace and of glory. The Virgin Mother we may al- 
so compare to Eve, making the second Eve, that, I» Mary, cor- 
respond with the first ; as we have already shown that the se- 
cond Adam, that is, Christ, corresponds with the first Adam. 
By believing the serpent, Eve entailed malediction and death on 
mankind ; (17) and Mary, by believing the Angel, became the 
instrument of the divine goodness in bringing life and benedic- 
tion to the human race. (18) From Eve we are born children 
of wrath; from Mary we have received Jesus Christ, and 
through him are regenerated children of grace. To Eve it was 
said : " In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children :" (19) Ma- 
ry was exempt from this law, for preserving her virginal integ- 
rity inviolate, she brought forth Jesus the Son of God, without 
experiencing, as we have already said, any sense of pain. 

The mysteries of this admirable conception and nativity be- T 7P es and 
ing, therefore, so great and so numerous, it accorded with the h^concep- 
views of Divine Providence to signify them by many types and j™ n ""' 



ativity. 



(15) John, xx. 19. C 16) 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22. (17) Eccl. xxv. 33. 

(18) Eph. i. 3. (19) Gen. iii. 16. • 









50 THE CATECHISM OF 

prophesies. Hence the Holy Fathers understood many things 
which we meet in the Sacred Scriptures to relate to them, par- 
ticularly that gate of the sanctuary which Ezekielsaw closed; 
(20) the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which be- 
came a great mountain and filled the universe ; (21) the rod of 
Aaron, which alone budded of all the rods of the princes of Is- 
rael ; (22) and the bush which Moses saw burn without being 
consumed. (23) The holy Evangelist describes in detail the 
history of the birth of Christ, (24) and, as the Pastor can easi- 
ly recur to the Sacred Volume, it is unnecessary for us to say 
more on the subject 
The lea- But he should labour to impress deeply on the minds and 
thi^mys'te- nearts °f ^ e faithful these mysteries, " which were written for 
ry conveys, "our instruction:" (25) first, that by the commemoration of so 
great a benefit they may make some return of gratitude to God, 
its author ; and next, in order to place before their eyes, as a 
model for imitation, this striking and singular example of hu- 
mility. What can be more useful, what better calculated to 
subdue the pride and haughtiness of the human heart, than to 
reflect, frequently, that God humbles himself in such a manner 
as to assume our frailty and weakness, in order to communicate 
to us his grace and glory — that God becomes man, and that he 
" at whose nod," — to use the words of Scripture, " the pillars 
" of heaven fear and tremble," (26) bows his supreme and in- 
finite majesty to minister to man — that he whom the angels adore 
in heaven is born on earth ! ! When such is the goodness of God 
towards us, what, I ask, what should we not do to testify our 
obedience to his will ? With what promptitude and alacrity 
should we not love, embrace and perform all the duties of Chris- 
tian humility ? The faithful should also know the salutary les- 
sons which Christ teaches at his birth, before he opens his di- 
vine lips; — he is born in poverty, — he is born a stranger under 
a roof not his own, — he is born in a lonely crib — he is born in 
the depth of winter! These circumstances, which attend the 
birth of the man-God, are thus recorded by St. Luke : " And it 
" came to pass, that, when they were there, her days were ac- 
" complished that, she should be delivered, and she brought forth 

(20)Ezoch.xliv. 2. (21) Dan. ii. 35. (22) Num. xvii. S. (23) Exod. in. 2. 
(24) LuUc, ii. (25) Rom. xv. 4. (26) Job. xxvi. II. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 51 

" her first-born son and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, 
" and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them 
"• in the inn." (27) Could the Evangelist comprehend under 
more humble terms the majesty and glory that filled the heavens 
and the earth ? He does not say, there was no room in the inn, 
but " there was no room for him who says : mine is the earth 
"and the fulness thereof;" (28) and this destitution of the man- 
God another Evangelist records in these words, " He came un- 
" to his own, and his own received him not." (29) 

When the faithful have placed these things before their eyes, j£ ^wfhit 
let them also reflect, that God condescended to assume the confers on 
lowliness and frailty of our flesh in order to exalt man to the 
highest degree of dignity ; for this single reflection alone sup- 
plies sufficient proof of the exalted dignity of man conferred on 
him by the divine bounty — that he who is true and perfect God 
vouchsafed to become man ; so that we may now glory that the 
Son of God is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, a privi- 
lege not given to angels, " for no where," says the Apostle, 
" doth he take hold of the angels ; but of the seed of Abraham 
" he taketh hold." (30) 

We must also take care, that these singular blessings rise not The influ - 

• -t • t» ii • encewhich 

in judgment against us ; that, as at Bethlehem, the place of his it should 
nativity, he was denied a dwelling ; so also, now that he is no J^fife™ 
longer born in human flesh, he be not denied a dwelling in our 
hearts, in which he may be spiritually born : for, through an 
earnest desire for our salvation, this is the object of his most 
anxious solicitude. As then, by the power of the Holy Ghost, 
and in a manner superior to the order of nature, he was made 
man and was born, was holy and even holiness itself; so does 
it become our duty " to be born, not of blood nor of the will of 
" flesh, but of God ;" (31) to walk as new creatures in new- 
ness of spirit; (32) and to preserve that holiness and purity of 
soul that become men regenerated by the Spirit of God. (33) 
Thus shall we reflect some faint image of the holy conception 
and nativity of the Son of God, which are the objects of our 
firm faith, and believing which we revere and adore " in a 
" mystery, the wisdom of God which was hidden." (34) 

(27) Luke, ii. 6, 7. (28) Ps. xlix. 12. (29) John, i. 11. 

(30) Heb. ii. 16. (31) John, i. 13. (32) Rom. vi. 4, 5, & vii. 6. 

(33) 2 Cor. iii. 18. (34) 1 Cor. ii. 7. 



52 THE CATECHISM OF 



ARTICLE IV. 



SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DEAD, 
AND BURIED." 



Necessity " SUFFERED UNDER PoNTIUS PlLATE, WAS CRUCIFIED""] 

knowledge How necessary the knowledge of this Article, and how assidu- 
and fre- ous th e p as t or should be in stirring up, in the minds of the faith- 

quent ex- x ° r ' 

position of ful, the frequent recollection of our Lord's passion, we learn 
tusartlce - from the Apostle when he says, that he knows nothing but 
Christ, and him crucified. (1) In illustrating this subject, 
therefore, the greatest care and pains should be taken by the 
pastor, that the faithful, excited by the remembrance of so great 
a benefit, may be entirely devoted to the contemplation of the 
goodness and love of God towards us. 
What this The first part of this Article (of the second we shall treat 

part of the 

article pro- hereafter,) proposes to our belief, that when Pontius Pilate go- 
ouTtaHef. verne d tne province of Judea, under Tiberius Caesar, Christ 
the Lord was nailed to a cross. Having been seized as a mal- 
efactor, mocked, outraged, and tortured, in various forms, he 
was finally crucified. Nor can it be a matter of doubt that his 
soul, as to its inferior part, was not insensible to these torments ; 
for as he really assumed human nature, it is a necessary conse- 
quence that he really, and in his soul, experienced a most acute 
sense of pain. Hence these words of the Saviour : " My soul 
" is sorrowful, even unto death." (2) Although human nature 
was united to the divine person, he felt the bitterness of his 
passion as acutely as if no such union had existed ; because in 
the one person of Jesus Christ were preserved the properties 
of both natures, human and divine; and, therefore, what was 
passible and mortal remained passible and mortal ; and again, 

(1) 1 Cor. ii. 2. (2) Mat. xxvi. 38. Mark, xiv. 34. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 53 

what was impassible and immortal, that is his divine nature, 
continued impassible and immortal. 

But, if we find it here recorded with such historical minute- ^ hy £\ e 

7 _ time of the 

ness, that Jesus Christ suffered when Pilate was procurator of passion is 
Judea, (3) the pastor will explain the reason — it is, that by fix- recorded. 
ing the time, as the Apostle does, in the sixth chapter of his 
first Epistle to Timothy, so important and so necessary an event 
may be ascertained by all with greater certainty ; and to show 
that the event verified the prediction of the Saviour : " They 
" shall deliver him to the Gentiles, to be mocked, and scourg- 
ed, and crucified." (4) 

That he suffered the particular death of the cross is also to JJStdied 
be traced to the economy of the divine councils, " that whence on a cross, 
"death came, thence life might arise." The serpent, which 
overcame our first parents by the fruit of the tree, was himself 
overcome by Christ on the wood of the cross. Many reasons, 
which the Holy Fathers have evolved in detail, may be adduc- 
ed to show the congruity of the Saviour's having suffered the 
death of the cross, rather than any other ; but enough that the 
faithful be informed by the pastor, that that species of death, 
because confessedly the most ignominious and humiliating, was 
chosen by the Saviour, as most consonant, and best suited to 
the plan of redemption ; for not only amongst the Gentiles was 
the death of the cross deemed execrable and loaded with dis- 
grace and infamy, but also amongst the Jews ; for in the law of 
Moses, the man is pronounced " accursed, who hangeth on a 
" tree." (5) 

But the historical part of this Article, which has been narra- Historical 
ted by the Holy Evangelists with the most minute exactness, is Article not 
not to be omitted by the pastor ; in order that the faithful may *° be oimt " 
be familiarly acquainted with, at least, the principal heads of 
this mystery, which are of more immediate necessity to con- 
firm the truth of our faith. For on this Article, as on a sort of 
foundation, rest the religion and faith of Christians, and on this 
foundation, when once laid, the superstructure rises with per- 
fect security. If any other truth of Christianity presents diffi- 
culties to the mind of man, the mystery of the cross must, as- 
suredly, be considered to present still greater difficulties. We 

(3) 1 Tim. vi. 13. (4) Mat. xx. 19. (5) Deut. xxi. 23. Gal. iii. 13. 









54 THE CATECHISM OF 

can scarcely be brought to think that our salvation depends on 
the cross, and on him, who for us, was fastened to its wood. 
But in this, as the Apostle says, we may admire the supreme 
wisdom of divine Providence ; " for seeing that in the wisdom 
"of God, the world by wisdom knew not God : it pleasethGod 
" by the foolishness of our preaching, to save them that be- 
" lieve." (6) We are not, therefore, to be surprised, that the 
Prophets, before the coming of Christ, and the Apostles after 
his death and resurrection, laboured so industriously to con- 
vince mankind that he was the Redeemer of the world, and to 
bring them under the power and obedience of him w T ho was 
crucified. 
Figures Knowing, therefore, that nothing is so far above the reach 
phecies of °f human reason as the mystery of the cross, Almighty God, 
the passion immediately from the fall of Adam, ceased not, both by figures 
of the Sa- and by the oracles of the Prophets, to signify the death by 
vloun which his son was to die. Not to dwell on these figures, Abel 
who fell a victim to the envy of his brother, (7) Isaac who 
was commanded to be offered in sacrifice, (8) the lamb immo- 
lated by the Jews on their departure from Egypt, (9) and also 
the brazen serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert, (10) were 
all figures of the passion and death of Christ the Lord. That 
this event was foretold by many Prophets, is a fact too well 
known to require developement here. Not to speak of David, 
whose Psalms embrace the principal mysteries of redemption, 
(11) the oracles of Isaias are so clear and graphic, (12) that 
he may be said rather to have recorded a past, than predicted 
a future event. (13) 
Christreal- » Dead and buried"] When explaining these words, the 
pastor will propose to the belief of the faithful, that Jesus 
Christ, after his crucifixion, was really dead and buried. It is 
not without just reason that this is proposed as a separate and 
distinct object of belief: there were some who denied his death 
upon the cross. The Apostles, therefore, were justly of opin- 
ion, that to such an error should be opposed the doctrine of 
faith contained in this Article of the Creed, the truth of which 
is placed beyond the possibility of doubt, by the concurring 

(6) 1 Cor. i. 21. (7) Gen. iv. 8. (8) Gen. xxii. 6, 7, 8. 

(9)Exod. xi. 5, 6, 7. (10) Num. xxi. 8, 9. John, iii. 14. 
(11) Psalm, ii. xxi. lxvi. cix. (12) Isai. liii. 

(!3) Flier. Epist. ad Paulin. ante finem. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 55 

testimony of all the Evangelists, who record that Jesus " yield- 
" ed up the ghost." (14) Moreover, as Christ was true and 
perfect man, he, of course, was, also, capable of dying, and 
death takes place by a separation of the soul from the body. 
When, therefore, we say that Jesus died, we mean that his 
soul was disunited from his body ; not that his divinity was so 
separated. On the contrary, we firmly believe and profess ** 1S d Vfim- 
that, when his soul was dissociated from his body, his divinity to his soul 
continued always united both to his body in the sepulchre, and w'hiist'se- 
to his soul in Limbo. It became the Son of God to die, " that parted by 

, death. 

" through death he might destroy him who had the empire 
" of death, that is to say, the devil ; and might deliver them, 
" who through fear of death, were all their life-time subject 
"to servitude." (15) 

It was the peculiar privilege of the Redeemer to have died His death 
when he himself decreed to die, and to have died, not so much vo un ary ' 
by external violence, as by internal assent : not only his death 
but also its time and place were ordained by him, as we learn 
from these words of Isaias : " He was offered because it was 
" his own will." (16) The Redeemer, before his passion, de- 
clared the same of himself: " I lay down my life," says he, 
" that I may take it again. No man taketh it away from me ; 
" but I lay it down of myself, and I have power to lay it down ; 
"and I have power to take it again." (17) As to time and 
place, when Herod insidiously sought the life of the Saviour, 
he said : " Go, and tell that fox : behold I cast out devils, and 
" perform cures this day and to-morrow, and the third day I 
" am consummated. But yet I must walk this day, and to-mor- 
" row, and the day following, because it cannot be that a pro- 
phet perish out of Jerusalem." (18) He, therefore, offered 
himself not involuntarily or by external coaction ; but of his 
own free will. Going to meet his enemies, he said, " I am he ;" 
(19) and all the punishments which injustice and cruelty inflict- 
ed on him he endured voluntarily. 

When we meditate on the sufferings and torments of the Re- and, there- 
deemer, nothing is better calculated to excite in our souls, sen- stronger 
timents of lively gratitude and love, than to reflect that he en- cIaim to 

J ° ourgrati- 

, , , tude and 

(14) Mat. xxvii. 50. Mark, xv. 37. Luko, xxiii. 46. John, xix. 30. love. 

(15) Heb. ii. 10, 14, 15. (16) Isaias, liii. 7. 

(17) John, x. 17, 18. (IS) Luke, xiii. 32, 33. (19) John, xviii. 5. 



m 






56 THE CATECHISM OF 

dured them voluntarily. Were any one to endure, by compul- 
sion, every species of suffering, for our sake, we should deem 
his claims to our gratitude very doubtful ; but were he to en- 
dure death freely, and for our sake only, having had it in his 
power to avoid it ; this indeed is a favour so overwhelming, as 
to deprive even the most grateful heart, not only of the power 
of returning due thanks, but even of adequately feeling the ex- 
tent of the obligation. We may hence form an idea of the 
transcendant and intense love of Jesus Christ towards us, and 
of his divine and boundless claims to our gratitude. 
Why the But if, when we confess that he was buried, we make this, as 

word "bu- . . _ . . . . . 

hed" is it were, a distinct part of the Article, it is not because it pre- 
^Uii^ar- sents an y difficulty which is not implied in what we have said 
tide. of his death ; for believing, as we do, that Christ died, we can 
also easily believe that he was buried. The word "buried" 
was added in the creed, first, that his death may be rendered 
more certain, for the strongest proof of a person's death is the 
interment of his body ; and, secondly, to render the miracle of 
his resurrection more authentic and illustrious. It is not, how- 
ever, our belief, that the body of Christ was alone interred : 
these words propose, as the principal object of our belief, that 
God was buried, as, according to the rule of Catholic faith, we 
also say with the strictest truth, that God was born of a virgin, 
that God died ; for, as the divinity was never separated from 
his body which was laid in the sepulchre, we truly confess that 
God was buried. 
The body As to the place and manner of his burial, what the Evangel- 
incorrupt ists record on these subjects will be found sufficient for all the 
in i th hj Se " P ur P oses °f ^ ie pastor's instructions. (20) There are, howev- 
er, two things which demand particular attention; the one, that 
the body of Christ was, in no degree, corrupted in the sepul- 
chre, according to the prediction of the Prophet : " Thou wilt 
Burial, P as-"not give thy Holy One to see corruption;" (21) the other, 
deTth,refer and ll regards the several parts of this Article, that burial, pas- 
toChristasgion an d a lso death, apply to Jesus Christ, not as God, but as 

man,notas . 

God. man : to suffer and die are incidental to human nature only, al- 
though they are also attributed to God, because predicated 

(20) Mat. xxvii. 60. Mark, xv. 46. Luke, xxiii. 53. John, xix. 38. 

(21) Psalm xv. 10. Acts, ii. 31. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 57 

with propriety of that person who is, at once, perfect God and 
perfect man. 

When the faithful have once attained the knowledge of these P ! g mt y of 

° , him who 

things, the pastor will next proceed to explain those particulars suffers, 
of the passion and death of Christ, which may enable them, if 
not to comprehend, at least to contemplate the infinitude of so 
stupendous a mystery. And, first, we are to consider who it is 
who suffers. To declare, or even to conceive in thought, his 
dignity, is not given to man. — Of him, St. John says, that he is 
" the Word which was with God :" (22) and the Apostle de- 
scribes him in these sublime terms : " this is he, whom God 
" hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the 
" world ; who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure 
" of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his 
" power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of 
" the majesty on high." (23) In a word, Jesus Christ, the 
man-God, suffers! The Creator suffers for the creature — 
The Master for the servant — He suffers, by whom the ele- 
ments, the heavens, men and angels were created, " of whom, 
" by whom, and in whom, are all things." (24) 

It cannot, therefore, be matter of surprise that, whilst he Reflection, 
agonized under such an accumulation of torments, the whole 
frame of the universe was convulsed, and, as the Scriptures 
inform us, " the earth trembled, and the rocks were rent, and 
" the sun was darkened, and there was darkness all over the 
" earth." (25) If, then, even mute and inanimate nature sym- 
pathised with the sufferings of her dying Lord, let the faithful 
conceive, if they can, with what torrents of tears they, " the 
" living stones of the edifice," (26) should evince their sorrow. 

The reasons why the Saviour suffered are also to be ex- Reasons 
plained, that thus the greatness and intensity of the divine Jj^T ¥. 
love towards us may the more fully appear. Should it then be ] ft reason, 
asked why the Son of God underwent the torments of his most us . 
bitter passion, we shall find the principal causes in the heredi- 
tary contagion of primeval guilt; in the vices and crimes which 
have been perpetrated from the beginning of the world to the 
present day ; and in those which shall be perpetrated to the 

(22) John, i. 1,2. (23) Heb. i. 2, 3. (24) Rom. xi. 36. 

(25) Mat. xxvii. 51. Luke, xxiii. 44, 45. (26) 1 Peter, ii. 5, 



58 THE CATECHISM OF 

consummation of time. Tn his death and passion the Son of 
God contemplated the atonement of all the sins of all ages, with 
a view to efface them for ever, by offering for them to his 
Eternal Father, a superabundant satisfaction ; and thus the prin- 
cipal cause of his passion will be found in his love of us. 
Second Besides, to increase the dignity of this mystery, Christ not 

atone for only suffered for sinners ; but the very authors and ministers of 
MtuaTsta a11 tlie tormentsne endured were sinners. Of this the Apostle 
reminds us in these words addressed to the Hebrews : " Think, 
" diligently, on him who endured such opposition from sinners 
" against himself ; that you be not wearied, fainting in your 
" minds." (27) In this guilt are involved all those who fall fre- 
quently into sin ; for, as our sins consigned Christ our Lord to 
the death of the cross, most certainly, those who wallow in sin 
and iniquity, as far as depends on them, "crucify to them- 
" selves again the Son of God, and make a mockery of him." (28) 
This our guilt takes a deeper die of enormity when contrasted 
with that of the Jews : according to the testimony of the Apos- 
tle, " if they had known it, they never would have crucified 
" the Lord of Glory :" (29) whilst we, on the contrary, pro- 
fessing to know him, yet denying him by our actions, seem, in 
some sort, to lay violent hands on him. (30) 
Christ deli- But that Christ the Lord was also delivered over to death 
vered over ^y ^ e Father and by himself, we learn from these words of 

to death by J J ' 

the Father Isaias : " For the wickedness of my people have I struck him ;" 
hUnseff. (W) an< ^ a ^t\e before, when, filled with the Spirit of God, he 
sees the Lord covered with stripes and wounds, the same pro- 
phet says : " We all, like sheep, have gone astray, every one 
" hath turned aside into his own way : and the Lord hath laid 
" on him the iniquities of us all." (32) But of the Saviour it is 
written, " if he w r ill lay down his life for sin, he shall see a 
long-lived seed." (33) This the Apostle expresses in lan- 
guage still stronger when, on the other hand, he wishes to show 
us how confidently we should trust in the boundless mercy and 
goodness of God : " He that spared not even his own Son," 
says the Apostle, " but delivered him up for us all, how hath 
" he not also, with him, given us all things ?" (34) 

(27) Heb. xii. 3. (28) Heb. vi. 6. (29) 1 Cor. ii. S. (30) Tit. i. 16. 
(31) Isaias, liii. 8. (32) Isaias, liii. 6. (33) Isaias, liii. 10. (34) Rom. viii. 32. 




THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 59 

The next subject of the pastor's instruction is the bitterness Bitterness 
of the Redeemer's passion. If however we bear in mind thatgion. 1 P 
" his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the 
"ground;" (35) and this, at the sole anticipation of the tor- I- 
ments and agony which he was soon after to endure, we must, 
at once, perceive that his sorrows admitted of no increase ; for 
if, and this sweat of blood proclaims it, the very idea of the 
impending evils was so overwhelming, what are we to sup- 
pose their actual endurance to have been? 

That our Lord suffered the most excruciating torments of II. 
mind and body is but too well ascertained. In the first place, 
there was no part of his body that did not experience the most 
agonizing torture — his hands and feet were fastened with nails 
to the cross — his head was pierced with thorns and smitten 
with a reed — his faca was befouled with spittle and buffetted 
with blows — his whole body was covered with stripes — Men m. 
of all ranks and conditions were also gathered together " against 
" the Lord and against his Christ." (36) — Jews and Gentiles 
were the advisers, the authors, the ministers of his passion — 
Judas betrayed him (37) — Peter denied him (38) — all the rest 
deserted him (39) — and, whilst he hangs from the instrument 
of his execution, are we not at a loss which to deplore, his ag- 
ony or his ignominy — or both ? Surely no death more shame- 
ful, none more cruel could have been devised than that which 
was the ordinary punishment of guilty and atrocious malefac- 
tors only — a death the tediousness of which aggravated the 
protraction of its exquisite pain and excruciating torture ! His IV - 
agony was increased by the very constitution and frame of his 
body. Formed by the power of the Holy Ghost, it was more 
perfect and better organised than the bodies of other men can 
be, and was, therefore, endowed with a superior susceptibility 
of pain, and a keener sense of the torments which it endured : 
and as to his interior anguish of mind, that, too, was no doubt V. 
extreme : for those amongst the paints who had to endure tor- 
ments and tortures, were not without consolation from above, 
which enabled them not only to bear their violence patiently, 
but, in many instances, to feel, in the very midst of them, elate 

(35) Luke, xxii. 44. (36) Psal. ii. 2. (31) Math. xxvi. 47. 

(38) Mark, xiv. 68, 10, 71. (39) Math. xxvi. 66. 



60 THE CATECHISM OF 

with interior joy. " I rejoice," says the Apostle, " in my suf- 
" ferings for you and fill up those things that are wanting of the 
" sufferings of Christ, in my flesh for his body, which is the 
" Church ;" (40) and in another place, " I am filled with com- 
" fort ; I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation." (41 ) 
Christ our Lord tempered with no admixture of sweetness the 
bitter chalice of his passion ; but permitted his human nature 
to feel as acutely, every species of torment, as if he were only 
man, and not, also, God. 
imrs b of 8S " The blessings and advantages which flow to the human race, 
which it is from the passion of Christ, alone remain to be explained. In 
ous source, the first place, then, the passion of our Lord was our deliver- 
j ance from sin ; for, as St. John says : " He hath loved us and 
" washed us from our sins in his own blood ;" (42) " He hath 
"quickened you together with him;" says the Apostle, "for- 
" giving you all offences, blotting out the hand writing of the 
" decree that was against us, which was contrary to us, and he 
n " hath taken away the same, fastening it to the cross." (43) He 
has rescued us from the tyranny of the devil, for our Lord him- 
self says : " Now is the judgment of the world ; now shall the 
" prince of this world be cast out ; and I, if I be lifted up from 
" the earth, will draw all things to myself.'' (44) He discharg- 
jy' ed the punishment due to our sins ; and, as no sacrifice more 
grateful and acceptable could have been offered to God, he re- 
conciled us to the Father, (45) appeased his wrath, and propi- 
v tiated his justice. Finally, by atoning for our sins, he opened 
to us heaven, which was closed by the common sin of mankind, 
according to these words of the Apostle: " We have, there- 
" fore, brethren, a confidence in the entering into the Holies 
" by the blood of Christ." (46) 
Type and ^or are we without a type and figure of this mystery in the 
figure of old i aw • those who were prohibited to return into their native 
demption. country, before the death of the high-priest, (47) typified that, 
until the supreme and eternal High-Priest, Christ-Jesus, had 
died, and by dying opened heaven to those who, purified by the 
sacraments, and gifted with faith, hope and charity, become 

(40) Coloss. i. 24. (41) 2 Cor. vii. 4. (42) Rev. i. 5. 

(43) Col. ii. 13, 14. (44) John xii. 31, 32. (45) 2 Cor. v. 19. 

(46) Heb. x. 19. (47) Num. xxxv. 25. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 61 

partakers of his passion ; no one, however just may have been 
his life, could gain admission into his celestial country. 

The pastor will teach that all these inestimable and divine Christ pur- 
blessings flow to us from the passion of Christ; first, because r c e h d a e s ^ d p " ur 
the satisfaction which Jesus Christ has, in an admirable man- tion - 
ner, made to his Eternal Father, for our sins, is full and com- 
plete ; and the price which he paid for our ransom not only 
equals but far exceeds the debts contracted by us. Again, the 
sacrifice was most acceptable to God, for when offered by his 
Son on the altar of the cross, it entirely appeased his wrath 
and indignation. This the Apostle teaches, when he says: 
a Christ loved us, and delivered himself for us, an oblation and 
" a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness." (46) Of the 
redemption which he purchased the prince of the Apostles says: 
" You were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold and 
" silver, from your vain conversations of the tradition of your 
" fathers ; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb 
"unspotted and undefiled." (47) 

Besides these inestimable blessings, we have also received In his pas- 
another, of the highest importance. In the passion alone, we have f^ U g ^ 
the most illustrious example of the exercise of everv virtue. Pa- example of 

every vir~ 

tience, and humility, and exalted charity, and meekness, and obe- tue. 
dience, and unshaken firmness of soul not only in suffering for jus- 
tice-sake, but also in meeting death, are so conspicuous in the 
suffering Saviour, that we may truly say, that, on the day of 
his passion alone, he offered, in his own person, a living ex- 
emplification of all the moral precepts, which he inculcated 
during the entire time of his public ministry. This exposition 
of the saving passion of Christ the Lord, we have given brief- 
ly — Would to God ! that these mysteries were always present 
to our minds, and that we learned to suffer, to die, and to be 
buried with Christ : that, cleansed from the stains of sin, and 
rising with him to newness of life, we may, at length, through 
his grace and mercy, be found worthy to be made partakers of 
the glory of his celestial kingdom. 



62 THE CATECHISM OF 



ARTICLE V. 



HE DESCENDED INTO HELL, THE THIRD DAY HE AROSE 
AGAIN FROM THE DEAD." 



Know- "He descended into hell"] To know the glory of the 

thisArticle sepulture of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which we have last 
most nn- treated, is highly important ; but of still higher importance is 
it to the faithful to know the splendid triumphs which he ob- 
tained, by having subdued the devil and despoiled the powers 
of hell. Of these triumphs, and, also, of his resurrection, we 
are now about to speak; and, although the latter presents to us 
a subject which might, with propriety, be treated under a se- 
parate and distinct head, yet, following the example of the holy 
Fathers, we have deemed it judicious to embody it with his 
descent into hell. 
What its j n the first part of this Article, then, we profess that, imme- 
proposes to diately after the death of Christ, his soul descended into hell, 
our belie . afi( j ^welt there whilst his body remained in the grave : and 
also that the same Person of Christ was, at the same time, in 
hell and in the sepulchre. Nor should this excite our sur- 
prise ; for we have already, frequently said, that, although his 
soul was separated from his body, his divinity was never sepa- 
rated from soul or body. 
Meaning jj u t as the pastor, by explaining the meaning of the word 
word 'hell' hell, in this place, may throw considerable light on the expo- 
ticle. S f " sition of this Article, it is to be observed, that by the word 
hell, is not here meant the sepulchre, as some have, not less 
impiously than ignorantly, imagined; for, in the preceding Ar- 
ticle we learned that Christ was buried ; and there was no rea- 
son why the Apostles, in delivering an article of faith, should 
repeat the same thing in other and more obscure terms. Hell, 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 63 

then, here signifies those secret abodes in which are detained 
the souls that have not been admitted to the regions of bliss ; a 
sense in which the word is frequently used in Scripture. Thus, 
the Apostle says, that, " at the name of Jesus, every knee should 
*' bend, of those that are in heaven, on earth and in hell:" (1) 
and in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter says, that Christ the Lord 
was again risen, "having loosed the sorrows of hell." (2) 

These abodes are not all of the same nature, for amongst its differ- 
them, is that most loathsome and dark prison in which the . ent mean " 

1 . . . mgs. 

souls of the damned are buried with the unclean spirits, ineter- I. 
nal and inextinguishable fire. This dread abode is called Ge- 
henna, the bottomless pit, and, strictly speaking, means hell. 
Amongst them is also the fire of purgatory, in which the souls II. 
of just men are cleansed by a temporary punishment, in order 
to be admitted into their eternal country, " into which nothing 
"defiled entereth." (3) The truth of this doctrine founded, as 
holy councils declare, (4) on Scripture, and confirmed by apos- 
tolical tradition, demands diligent and frequent exposition, pro- 
portioned to the circumstances of the times in which we live, 
when men endure not sound doctrine. Lastly, the third kind of m 
abode is that into which the souls of the just, who died before 
Christ were received, and where, without experiencing any sort 
of pain, and supported by the blessed hope of redemption, they 
enjoyed peaceful repose. To liberate these souls, who, in the 
bosom of Abraham, were expecting the Saviour, Christ the 
Lord descended into hell. 

But, we are not to imagine that his power and virtue only, The soul 
but we are also firmly to believe that his soul also, really and rea ]i y ^ 
substantially descended into hell, according to-this conclusive . scen ded 
testimony of David : " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." 
(5) But, although Christ descended into hell, his supreme pow- 
er was still the same ; nor was the splendour of his sanctity in 
any degree obscured. His descent served rather to prove, 
that whatever has been already said of his sanctity was true ; 
and that, as he had previously demonstrated by so many mira- 
cles, he was truly the Son of God. 

This we shall easily understand by comparing the descent 

(1) Philip, ii. 10. (2) Acts, ii. 24. (3) Apoc. xxi. 27. 

(4) Trid. Cone. Sess. 25. (5) Ps. xv. 10. 



64 THE CATECHISM OF 

Difference of Christ, in its causes and circumstances, with that of the just 
hisdescent — They descended as captives; (6) He as free and victorious 
oU?ers. at ° f amon g st the dead, to subdue those demons by whom, in conse- 
quence of primeval guilt, they were held in captivity — they de- 
scended, some to endure the most acute torments, others, though 
exempt from actual pain, yet deprived of the vision of God , and 
of the glory for which they sighed, and consigned to the tor- 
ture of suspense; Christ the Lord descended, not to suffer, but 
to liberate from suffering the holy and the just who were held 
in painful captivity, and to impart to them the fruit of his pas- 
sion. His supreme dignity and power, therefore, suffered no 
diminution by his descent into hell. 
Why he Having explained these things, the pastor will, next, proceed 

I. to teach that the Son of God descended into hell, that, clothed 
with the spoils of the arch-enemy, he may conduct into heaven 
those holy fathers, and the other just souls, whose liberation 
from prison he had already purchased. This he accomplished 
in an admirable and glorious manner, for his august presence, 
at once shed a celestial lustre upon the captives ; filled them 
with inconceivable joy ; and imparted to them that supreme 
happiness which consists in the vision of God ; thus verifying 
his promise to the thief on the cross : " Amen, I say to thee, 
" this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise." (7) This de- 
liverance of the just was, long before, predicted by Ozeas, in 
these words : « O Death ! I will be thy death, O Hell ! I will 
" be thy bite ;" (8) and also by the Prophet Zachary : " Thou, 
" also, by the blood of thy testament, hast sent forth thy pri- 
" soners out of the pit, wherein is no water ;" (9) and lastly, 
the same is expressed by the Apostle in these words : " Des- 
" poiling the principalities and powers, he hath exposed them 
"confidently, openly triumphing over them in himself." (10) 

II. However, to comprehend still more clearly the efficacy of 
this mystery, we should frequently call to mind, that not only 
those who were born after the coming of the Saviour, but,*also, 
those who preceded that event from the days of Adam, or 
shall succeed it to the consummation of time, are included in the 
redemption purchased by the death of Christ. Before his death 

(6) Ps. lxxxvii. 5, 6. t 7 ) Luke, xxiii. 43. (8) Ozeas, xiii. 14. 

(9) Zach. ix. 11. (10) Col. ii. 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 65 

and resurrection, heaven was closed against every child of 
Adam : the souls of the just, on their departure from this life, 
were borne to the bosom of Abraham ; or, as is still the case 
with those who require to be freed from the stain of sin, or die 
indebted to the divine justice, were purified in the fire of pur- 
gatory. 

Another reason, also, why Christ descended into hell is, that III. 
there, as well as in heaven and on earth, he may proclaim his 
power and authority ; and that " every knee of things in hea- 
" ven, and on earth, and under the earth, should bend at his 
"name." (11) And here, who is not filled with admiration 
and astonishment when he contemplates the infinite love of God 
to man ! Not satisfied with having undergone for our sake a 
most cruel death, he penetrates the inmost recesses of the 
earth, to transport into bliss the souls whom he so dearly lov- 
ed, and whose liberation from prison he had achieved at the 
price of his blood ! 

We now come to the second part of the Article, and how The se- 
indefatigable should be the labours of the pastor in its exposi- of"he P Ar- 
tion ; we learn from these words of the Apostle to Timothy : tide. 
" Be mindful that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen again from 
"the dead:" (12) words, no doubt, addressed not only to Ti- 
mothy, but to all who have care of souls. But the meaning of Its mean- 
the Article is, that after Christ the Lord had expired on the ing * 
cross, on the sixth day and ninth hour, and was buried on the 
evening of the same day by his disciples, who with the permis- 
sion of the governor Pilate, laid the body of the Lord, when 
taken down from the cross, in a new tomb, in a garden near 
at hand ; his soul was reunited to his body early on the morn- 
ing of the third day after his death, that is on the Lord's day ; 
and thus he, who was dead during those three days, returned 
to life, and rose from the embraces of the tomb — By the word Resurrec- 
resurrection, however, we are not, merely to understand that r j°" fo P the 

Christ was raised from the dead : a privilege common with him nat ural 

ii. !• power of 

to many others : but that he rose by his own power and virtue, man. 

a singular prerogative peculiar to him alone : for it is incompat- 
ible with our nature, nor was it ever given to man to raise him- 
self, by his own power from death to life. This was an exer- 

(11) Phil. ii. 10. (12) 2 Tim. ii. 8. 

9 






66 THE CATECHISM OF 

cise of power reserved for the omnipotent hand of God, a 
these words of the Apostle declare: " for, although he was cru- 
cified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God." 
(13) This divine power, having never been separated, either 
from his body whilst in the grave, or from his soul whilst dis- 
united from his body, existed in both, and gave to both a ca- 
pability of reuniting; and thus did the Son of God, by his own 
power, return to life, and rise again from the dead. This Da- 
vid foretold, when, filled with the Spirit of God, he prophesied 
in these words : " His right hand hath wrought for him salva- 
" tion, and his arm is holy." (14) This we, also, have from 
the divine lips of the Redeemer himself: " I lay down my life," 
says he, " that I may take it again ; and I have power to lay it 
" down, and power to take it again." (15) To the Jews he also 
said, in confirmation of his doctrine : " Destroy this temple, 
" and in three days, I will raise it up." (16) Although the Jews 
understood him to have spoken thus of the magnificent temple 
of Jerusalem, built of stone ; yet, as the Scripture testifies in 
the same place, "he spoke of the temple of his body.'' (17) 
We sometimes, it is true, read in Scripture, that he was raised 
by the Father ; (18) but this refers to him as man; as those 
passages, which, on the other hand, say that he rose by his 
own power, relate to him as God. (19) 
Christ 'the It is also the peculiar privilege of Christ to have been the 
ten of the first who enjoyed this divine prerogative of rising from the 
dead.' dead, for he is called in Scripture " the first-begotten of the 
" dead," (20) and also the first born from the dead :" (21) the 
Apostle also says, " Christ is risen from the dead, the first 
" fruits of them that sleep : for by a man came death, and by a 
" man the resurrection of the dead ; and, as in Adam all die, 
" so, also, in Christ all shall be made alive : but every one in 
M his own order ; the first fruits Christ, then they that are of 
" Christ, who have believed in his coming." (22) These words 
of the Apostle are to be understood of a perfect resurrection, 
by which we are resuscitated to eternal life, being no longer 
subject to death. In this resurrection Christ the Lord holds 
the first place ; for, if we speak of resurrection, that is, of a 

(13) 2 Cor. xiii. 4. (14) Ps. xcvii. 2. (15) John, x. 17, 18. 

(16) John, ii. 19. (17) John, ii. 21. (18) Acts, ii. -24, iii. 15. 

(19) Rom. viii- 34. (20) Apoc. i. 5. (21) Col. i. 18. (22) 1 Cor. xv. 20-23. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 67 

return to life, subject to the necessity of again dying, many 
were thus raised from the dead before Christ ; (23) all of whom, 
however, were restored to life to die again ; but Christ, the 
Lord, having conquered death, rose again to die no more, ac- 
cording to this clear testimony of the Apostle : " Christ rising 
" again from the dead, dieth now no more, death shall no long- 
" er have dominion over him." (24) 

" The Third Day"] In explanation of these additional words Christ rose 
of the Article, the pastor will inform the people, that Christ did ^ e ai "jj™j 
not remain in the grave during the entire of these three days, da y- 
but, as he lay in the sepulchre during an entire natural day, dur- 
ing part of the preceding day and part of the following, he is said 
with strictest truth, to have lain in the grave for three days, 
and on the third day, to have risen again from the dead. To Why on 
declare his divinity, he deferred not his resurrection to the end day- ir 
of the world ; whilst at the same time, to prove his humanity, 
and the reality of his death, he rose not immediately, but, on 
the third day after his death, a space of time sufficient to prove 
that he had really died. 

Here the Fathers of the first Council of Constantinople add- " A ? co t r h d " 

ed the words, " according to the Scriptures," which they re- Scrip- 

ceived from Apostolic tradition, and embodied with the creed, whyadded 

because the same Apostle teaches the absolute necessity of the t0 th , e 

creed, 
mystery of the resurrection, when he says : " If Christ be not 

"risen again, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also 
" vain, for you are yet in your sins." (25) Hence, admiring 
our belief of this Article, S. Augustine says : " It is of little 
"moment to believe that Christ died: this, the Pagans, Jews, 
" and all the wicked believe ; in a word, all believe that Christ 
" died ; but, that he rose from the dead is the belief of Chris- 
tians: to believe that he rose again, this we deem of great 
" moment." (26) Hence it is, that our Lord very frequently 
spoke to his disciples of his resurrection ; and seldom or nev- 
er of his passion without adverting to his resurrection. Thus, 
when he said : " The Son of Man shall be delivered to the 
" Gentiles, and shall be mocked and scourged and spit upon ; 
" and after they have scourged him, they will put him to death ;" 

(23) 3 Kings, xvii. 22. 4 Kings, iv. 34. (24) Rom. vi. 9. 

(26) 1 Cor. xv. 14, 17. (-!6) August, in Ps. cxx. 4. 



68 THE CATECHISM OF 

he added : " and the third day he shall rise again.'' (27) Also, 

when the Jews called upon him to give an attestation of the 

truth of his doctrine by some miraculous sign, he said : " A 

" sign shall not be given them but the sign of Jonas the Pro- 

" phet : for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the 

" whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three 

" nights in the bosom of the earth." (28) 

Three To understand, still better, the force and meaning of the 

wWch are Article, there are three things which demand attentive consid- 

here to be era jj on . fi rs t ft xe necessity of the resurrection : secondly, its 

explained. . . 

I- end and object: thirdly, the blessings and advantages of which 
ofthTre- it is to us the source. With regard to the first, it was neces- 
surrection: sarv that he should rise again, in order to manifest the justice 
of God ; for it was most congruous that he, who. through 
obedience to God, was degraded, and loaded with iguominy, 
should by him be exalted. This is a reason assigned by the 
Apostle in his Epistle to the Philippians : " He humbled him- 
" self," says he, " becoming obedient unto death ; even unto 
" the death of the cross ; for which cause God, also, hath ex- 
" alted him." (29) He rose, also, to confirm our faith, which 
is necessary to justification ; the resurrection of Christ from 
the dead by his own power, affords an irrefragable proof of 
his divinity. It also nurtures and sustains our hope, for, as 
Christ rose again, we rest on an assured hope, that we too, 
shall rise again : the members must necessarily arrive at the 
condition of their head. This is the conclusion which St. Paul 
draws from the reasoning which he uses in his epistles to the 
Corinthians, (30) and Thessalonians ; (31) and Peter, the prince 
of the Apostles, says : " Blessed be God and the Father of our 
" Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his great mercy, hath re- 
" generated us unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Je- 
ll- " sus Christ from the dead, unto the inheritance incorruptible.^ 
^ 8 . e c ". an (32) Finally, the resurrection of our Lord, as the pastor will 
inculcate, was necessary to complete the mystery of our sal- 
vation and redemption : by his death, Christ liberated us from 
the thraldom of sin, and restored to us, by his resurrection, the 
most important of those privileges which we had forfeited by 
sin. Hence these words of the Apostle : " He was delivered 

(21) Luke, xviii. 32, 33. Math. xvi. 21. 

(28) Luke, xi. 29. Math. xii. 39, 40. (29) Philip, ii. 8, 9. 

(30) 1 Cor. xv. 12. (31) 1 Thes iv. 14. (3s!) 1 Peter, i. 3, 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 69 

" up for our sins, and rose again for our justification." (33) 
That nothing, therefore, may be wanting to perfect the work 
of our salvation, it was necessary that, as he died, he should, 
also, rise again from the dead. 

From what has been said we can perceive the important ad- Its bl g SS . 
vantages which the resurrection of our Lord has conferred on in g s 
the faithful: in his resurrection, we acknowledge him to be 
the immortal God, full of glory, the conqueror of death and 
hell ; and this we are firmly to believe and openly profess of 
Christ Jesus. 

Again, the resurrection of Christ effectuates our resurrec- n. 
tion, not only as its efficient cause, but also as its model. Thus, 
with regard to the resurrection of the body, we have this tes- 
timony of the Apostle : " by a man came death, and by a man 
" the resurrection of the dead." (34) To accomplish the mys- 
tery of our redemption in all its parts, God made use of the 
humanity of Christ as its efficient instrument, and hence, his 
resurrection is the efficient cause of ours. It is also, the mo- 
del : his resurrection was the most perfect of all ; and, as his 
body, rising to immortal glory, was changed, so shall our bo- 
dies also, before frail and mortal, be restored and clothed with 
glory and immortality : in the language of the Apostle : " we 
" look for the Saviour our Lord Jesus Christ, who will reform 
" the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glo- 
"ry." (35) 

The same may be said of a soul dead in sin : how the resur- in. 
rection of Christ is proposed to such a soul the model of her 
resurrection, we learn from the same Apostle, when he says : 
" Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so 
" we also may walk in newness of life ; for if we have been 
" planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also 
" in the likeness of his resurrection ;" and a little after, " know- 
" ing that Christ, rising from the dead, dieth no more, death 
" shall no more have dominion over him ; for in that he died to 
" sin, he died once : but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 
" So do you also reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive un- 
" to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (36) 

(33) Rom. iv. 25. (34) 1 Cor. xv. 21. (35) Phil. iii. 20, 21. 

(36) Rom. vi. 4, 5, 6—9, 10, 11. 



70 THE CATECHISM OF 

From the resurrection of Christ, therefore, we should derive 
two important lessons of instruction : the one, that, after we 
have washed away the stains of sin, we should begin to lead a 
new life, distinguished by integrity, innocence, holiness, modes- 
ty, justice, beneficence, and humility : the other, that we should 
so persevere in that newness of life, as never more, with the di- 
vine assistance, to stray from the paths of virtue on which we 
have once entered. 
IV * Nor do the words of the Apostle prove only that the resur- 

rection of Christ is proposed as the model of our resurrection : 
they, also, declare that it gives us power to rise again ; and im- 
parts to us strength and courage to persevere in holiness and 
righteousness, and in the observance of the commandments of 
God. As his death not only furnishes us with an example, but 
also supplies us with strength to die to sin ; so also, his resur- 
rection invigorates us to attain righteousness : that worshipping 
God in piety and holiness, we may walk in the newness of life 
to which we have risen ; for the Redeemer achieved principal- 
ly by his resurrection, that we, who before died with him to 
sin, and to the world, may rise, also, with him again to a new 
discipline and manner of life. 
Principal The principal proofs of this resurrection from sin which de- 
£ r ° £ s J? fa mand observation, are comprised in these words of the Apos- 
tion from tie : " If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, 
" where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God." (37) Here, 
he distinctly tells us, that they, whose desire of life, honours, 
riches, and repose, are directed chiefly to the place in which 
Christ dwells, have truly risen with him : but when he adds, 
" Mind the things that are above, not the things that are on the 
" earth ;" (38) he gives this, as it were, as another standard, 
by which we may ascertain if we have truly risen with Christ ; 
for as a relish for food indicates a healthy state of the body ; so, 
with regard to the soul, if we relish " whatever is true, whate- 
" ver is modest, whatever is just, whatever is holy," (39) and 
experience within us a sense of the sweetness of heavenly 
things ; this we may consider a very strong proof, that with 
Christ we have risen to a new and spiritual life. 

(37) Col. iii. 1. (3S) Col. iii. 2. (39) Phil. iv. 8. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 71 



ARTICLE VI. 



* HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, SITTETH AT THE RIGHT 
HAND OF GOD, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY." 



"He ascended into Heaven' 1 ] Filled with the Spirit of Triumph 
God, and contemplating the blessed and glorious ascension f e ^ ™~ 
of our Lord into Heaven, the prophet David exhorts all h °w to be 
to celebrate that splendid triumph, with the greatest joy and by Chris- 
gladness. " Clap your hands," says he, " all ye nations, shout tians - 
" unto God with the voice of joy. God is ascended with jubi- 
" lee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet." (1) The pas- 
tor will hence learn the obligation imposed on him, of explain- 
ing this mystery with unremitting assiduity, and of taking espe- 
cial care that the faithful not only see it with the light of faith, 
and of the understanding ; but still more, that, as far as it is in 
his power to accomplish, they make it their study, with the di- 
vine assistance, to reflect its image in their lives and actions. 

With regard, then, to the exposition of this sixth Article, First P art 

, . , , ' '..■„*..... „ ' oftheArti- 

which has reference, principally, to the divine mystery of the cie: What 
ascension ; we shall begin with its first part, and point out its ^ ^ ^ es 
force and meaning. That Jesus Christ, having fully accom- l»eve. 
plished the work of redemption, ascended, as man, body and I. 
soul, into heaven, the faithful are unhesitatingly to believe ; for 
as God, he never forsook heaven, filling, as he does, all places 
with his divinity. 

The pastor is, also, to teach that he ascended by his own n. 
power, not by the power of another as did Elias, who was ta- 
ken up into heaven in a fiery chariot ; (2) or as the prophet Ha- 
bacuc ; (3) or Philip, the deacon, who were borne through the 
air by the divine power, and traversed the distant regions of 

(1) Ps. xlvi. 1, 6. (2) 4 Kings, ii. 1 1. (3) Dan. xiv. 35. 






' 



72 THE CATECHISM OF 

HI. the earth. (4) Neither did he ascend into heaven, solely by 
the exercise of his supreme power as God, but, also, by virtue 
of the power which he possessed as man : although human pow- 
er alone was insufficient to raise him from the dead, yet the 
virtue, with which the blessed soul of Christ was endowed, 
was capable of moving the body as it pleased, and his body, 
now glorified, readily obeyed its impulsive dominion. Hence, 
we believe that Christ ascended into heaven as God and man, 
by his own power. — We now come to the second part of the 
Article. 

Second " SlTTETH AT THE RIGHT HAND OF God, THE FATHER Al- 

Article. 1 6 M i GHTY "] I n these words we observe a trope, that is, the 
A trope, changing of a word from its literal, to a figurative meaning, a 
thing not unfrequent in Scripture, (5) when, accommodating its 
language to human ideas, it attributes human affections and hu- 
man members to God, who, spirit as he is, admits of nothing 
corporeal. But as, amongst men, he who sits at the right hand 
is considered to occupy the most honourable place, so, transfer- 
ring the idea to celestial things, to express the glory which 
Christ, as man, enjoys above all others, we confess that he sits 
What the at the right hand of his Eternal Father. This, however, does 
teth" " St " not i m ply position and figure of body ; but declares the fixed 
means and permanent possession of royal and supreme power and 
glory, which he received from the Father ; as the Apostle 
says : " raising him up from the dead, and setting him on his 
u right hand in the heavenly places, above all principality, and 
" power, and virtue, and domination, and every name that is 
" named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to 
" come : and he hath subjected all things under his feet." (6) 
These words manifestly imply that this glory belongs to our 
Lord, in so special a manner, that it cannot consist with the na- 
ture of any other created being; and hence, in another place, 
the Apostle asks: " To which of the angels said he at any time, 
" sit on my right hand, 'till I make thine enemies thy footstool ?" 
(7) 
History of jj ut tne p as t r will explain the sense of the Article, more at 

the ascen- ■* * ' 

sion. large, by detailing the history of the ascension, of which the 

(4) Acts, viii. 39. (5) Dionys. Areop. Epist. ix. 

(6) Eph. i. 20, 21, 22. Athan. Serm. 1 contra Arian. Basil, lib. de Spir. 
Sanct. c. vi. (7) Heb. i. IS. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 73 

evangelist St. Luke has left us an admirable description, in the 

Acts of the Apostles. (8) In his exposition, he will observe, in A11 ? th . eT 

r \ / r -> i mysteries 

the first place, that all other mysteries refer to the ascension, refer to it 
as to their end and completion ; as all the mysteries of religion end&com- 
commence with the Incarnation of our Lord, so his sojourn on P letion - 
earth terminates with his ascension into heaven. Moreover, Tenor of 
the other Articles of the Creed, which regard Christ the Lord, ou ^ s y$~ 
show his great humility and lowliness : nothing can be conceiv- compared 
ed more humble, nothing more lowly, than that the Son of God ascension, 
assumed the frailty of our flesh, suffered and died for us ; but 
nothing more magnificently, nothing more admirably proclaims 
his sovereign glory and divine majesty, than what is contained 
in the present and preceding Articles, in which we declare that 
he rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now sits at the 
right hand of his Eternal Father. 

When the pastor has accurately explained these truths, he Jf easons of 

1 J r ' the ascen- 

will next inform the faithful, why our Lord ascended into hea- sion. 
ven. — He ascended because the glorious kingdom of the high- 
est heavens, not the obscure abode of this earth, presented a 
suitable dwelling-place to him whose glorified body, rising from 
the tomb, was clothed with immortality — He ascended, not H. 
only to possess the throne of glory, and the kingdom which he 
purchased at the price of his blood, but, also, to attend to what- 
ever regards the salvation of his people. — He ascended,to prove UL 
thereby that "his kingdom is not of this world," (9) for the 
kingdoms of this world are terrene and transient, and are based 
upon wealth and the power of the flesh ; but the kingdom of 
Christ is not, as the Jews expected, an earthly, but a spiritual 
and eternal kingdom. Its riches, too, are spiritual, as he shows 
by placing his throne in the heavens, where they, who seek 
most earnestly the things that are of God, abound most in rich- 
es and in abundance of all good things, according to these 
words of St. James : — " Hath not God chosen the poor in this 
" world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which God hath 
" promised to them that love him ?" (10) 

He also ascended into heaven, in order to teach us to follow IV. 
him thither in mind and heart, for as, by his death and resur- 
rection, he bequeathed to us an example of dying and rising 

(8) Acta, i. (D) John, xviii. 96. (10) James, ii. 5. 

10 



74 THE CATECHISM OF 

again in spirit ; so by his ascension he teaches us, though 
dwelling on earth, to raise ourselves in thought and desire to 
heaven, " confessing that we are pilgrims and strangers on the 
"earth, (11) seeking a country;" "fellow-citizens with the 
" saints, and the domestics of God ;" (12) " for," says the same 
Apostle, "our conversation is in heaven." (13) 
v * The extent and unspeakable greatness of the blessings, which 

the bounty of God has bestowed on us with a lavish hand, were 
long before, as the Apostle interprets him, sung by. David in 
these words : " He ascended on high, led captivity captive, 

VI. "and gave gifts to men." (14) On the tenth day after his as- 
cension, he sent down the Holy Ghost, with whose power and 
plenitude he filled the multitude of the faithful, then present, 
and fulfilled his splendid promise : " It is expedient for you that 
" I go , for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you ; but, 

VII. " if I go, I will send him to you." (15) He also ascended into 
heaven, according to the Apostle, " that he may appear in the 
"presence of God for us," (16) and discharge for us the office 
of advocate with the Father : " My little children," says St. 
John, " these things 1 write to you, that you may not sin, but 
" if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 
"Christ, the just, and he is the propitiation for our sins." (17) 
There is nothing from which the faithful should derive great- 
er joy than from the reflection, that Jesus Christ is constitut- 
ed our advocate and intercessor with the Father, with whom 
his influence and authority are supreme. 

Vin. Finally, by his ascension, he has prepared for us a place, as 
he had promised, and has entered, as our head, in the name of 
us all, into the possession of the glory of heaven. (18) Ascend- 
ing into heaven, he threw open its gates, which had been clos- 
ed by the sin of Adam ; and, as he foretold his disciples, at his 
last supper, secured to us a way by which w r e may arrive at 
eternal happiness. In order to demonstrate this by the event, 
he introduced, with himself, into the mansions of eternal bliss, 
the souls of the just whom he had liberated from prison. 
Its other A series of important advantages followed in the train of 
ajantag- t ^ g ac j m i ra ki e profusion of celestial gifts : in the first place, the 

(11) Heb. xi. 13, 14. (12) Eph. ii. 19. (13) Philip, iii. 20. 

(14) Ps. lxvii. 19. Eph. iv. S. (15) John, xvi. 1, 8. Acts, i. 4, 5. 

(16) Heb. ix. 24. (17) 1 John, ii. 1, 2. (18) John, xiv. 2. 






THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 75 

merit of our faith was considerably augmented ; because faith I- 
has for its object those things which fall not under the senses, 
and are far raised above the reach of human reason and intelli- 
gence. If, therefore, the Lord had not departed from us, the 
merit of our faith would not be the same, for Jesus Christ has 
said : " Blessed are they who have not seen and have believ- 
*' ed." (19) In the next place, it contributes much to confirm II. 
our hope : believing that Christ, as man, ascended into hea- 
ven, and placed our nature at the right hand of God the Father, 
we are animated with a strong hope that we, as members, shall 
also ascend thither, to be there united to our head, according 
to these words of our Lord himself: u Father, I will, that 
" where I am, they, also, whom thou hast given me, may be 
" with me." (20) 

Another most important advantage, flowing from the ascen- in. 
sion, is, that it elevates our affections to heaven, and inflames 
them with the Spirit of God ; for, most truly has it been said, 
that, "where our treasure is, there, also, is our heart." (21) 
And, indeed, were Christ the Lord dwelling on earth, the con- 
templation of his person, and the enjoyment of his presence, 
must absorb all our thoughts, and we should view the author of 
such blessings only as man, and cherish towards him a sort of 
earthly affection : but, by his ascension into heaven, he has 
spiritualised our affection for him, and has made us venerate 
and love as God, him who, now absent, is the object of our 
thoughts, not of our senses. This we learn, in part, from the 
example of the Apostles, who, whilst our Lord was personal- 
ly present with them, seemed to judge of him, in some measure, 
humanly, and, in part, from these words of our Lord himself: 
" It is expedient for you that I go." (22) The affection, with 
which they loved him when present, was to be perfected by 
divine love, and that, by the coming of the Holy Ghost ; and, 
therefore, he immediately subjoins : "If I go not, the Paraclete 
" will not come to you." 

Besides, he thus enlarged his dwelling place on earth, that Iv - 
is, his Church, which was to be governed by the power and 
guidance of the Holy Spirit ; and left Peter, the prince of the 
Apostles, as chief pastor, and supreme head upon earth, of the 

(19) John, xx. 29. (20) John, xvii. 24. (21) Mat. vi. 21. (22) John, xvi. 7. 



76 THE CATECHISM OF 

universal Church. " Some, also, he gave Apostles, some Pro- 
" phets and other some Evangelists, and other some Pastors 
"and Doctors," (23) and, thus, seated at the right hand of the 
Father, he continually bestows different gifts on different men ; 
according to the words of St. Paul : " To every one of us is 
"given grace, according to the measure of the giving of 
" Christ." (24) 
V. Finally, what was already said of his death and resurrection, 

the faithful will deem not less true of his ascension ; for, al- 
though we owe our redemption and salvation to the passion of 
Christ, whose merits opened heaven to the just, yet his ascen- 
sion is not only proposed to us as a model, which teaches us to 
look on high, and ascend in spirit into heaven ; but also imparts 
to us a divine virtue which enables us to accomplish what it 
teaches. 

(23) Eph. iv. 11. (24) Eph. iv. 7, 






THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, 77 



ARTICLE VII. 



FROM THENCE HE SHALL COME TO JUDGE THE LIVING 
AND THE DEAD." 



Jesus Christ is invested with three eminent offices and The three 
functions, those of Redeemer, Patron, and Judge. But as, in JjJjgJ of 
the preceding Articles, we have shown that the human race was 
redeemed by his passion and death ; and as, by his ascension 
into heaven, it is manifest that he has undertaken the perpetual 
advocacy and patronage of our cause ; it next follows, that, in 
this Article, we set forth his character as judge. The scope Meaning 
and intent of the Article is to declare, that, on the last day, he ° f , tne T Ar " 

11 ■" ticle. Last 

will judge the whole human race : the Sacred Scriptures inform Judgment, 
us, that there are two comings of Christ, the one, when he as- 
sumed human flesh, for our salvation, in the womb of a vir- 
gin ; the other, when he shall come, at the end of the world, to 
judge mankind. This coming is called, in Scripture, " The 
day of the Lord:" " The day of the Lord," says the Apostle, 
" shall come, as a thief in the night;" (1) and our Lord himself 
says : " Of that day and hour nobody knoweth." (2) In proof 
of the last judgment, it is enough to adduce the authority of the 
Apostle : " We must all," says he, " appear before the judg- 
" ment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper 
" things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be 
" good or evil." (3) Sacred Scripture abounds in testimonies 
to the same effect, which the pastor will meet, every where, 
throughout the Inspired Volume, (4) and which not only estab- 
lish the truth of the dogma, but also place it, in vivid colours, 
before the eyes of the faithful ; that as, from the be- 

(1) 1 Thess. v. 2. (2) Matth. xxiv. 36. Mark, xiii. 32. (3) 2 Cor. v. 10. 
(4) 1 Kings, ii. 10. Isaias, ii. 12, 19 et xiii. 9. Jerem. xxx. 23. Dan. vii. 
9. Joel, ii. 1. 



78 THE CATECHISM OF 

ginning, the day of the Lord, on which he was clothed with 
our flesh, was sighed for by all, as the foundation of their hope 
of deliverance ; so also, after the death and ascension of the Son 
of God, the second day of the Lord may be the object of our 
most earnest desires ; " looking for the blessed hope and com- 
" ing of the glory of the great God." (5) 
Two judg- But, with a view to the better explanation of this subject, the 
pastor is to distinguish two distinct periods at which every one 
must appear in the presence of God, to render an account of all 
his thoughts, words, and actions, and receive sentence accord- 
Particular, ingly, from the mouth of his judge : the first, when each one 
departs this life ; for he is instantly placed before the judgment 
seat of God, where all that he had ever done, or spoken, or 
thought, during life, shall be subjected to the most rigid scruti- 
Gcneral. n y 5 anc * tms * s ca ^ e & the particular judgment: the second, 
when, on the same day, and in the same place, all men shall 
stand together, before the tribunal of their judge, that, in the 
presence and hearing of a congregated world, each may know 
his final doom : an announcement which will constitute no small 
part of the pain and punishment of the wicked, and of the re- 
muneration and rewards of the just ; when the tenor of each 
Why a ge- man's life shall appear in its true colours. This is called the 
ment UdS ~ a enera ^ judgment ; and it becomes an indispensable duty of the 
pastor to show why, besides the particular judgment of each 
individual, a general one should also be passed upon the assem- 
I. bled world. The first reason is founded on circumstances that 
must augment the rewards, or aggravate the punishments of 
the dead. Those who depart this life sometimes leave behind 
them children who imitate the conduct of their parents, depend- 
ants, followers ; and others who admire and advocate the ex- 
ample, the language, the conduct of those on whom they de- 
pend, and whose example they follow ; and as the good or bad 
influence of example, affecting, as it does, the conduct of ma- 
ny, is to terminate only with this world ; justice demands that, 
in order to form a proper estimate of the .good or bad actions 
of all, a general judgment should take place. 
n Moreover, as the character of the virtuous frequently suf- 

fers from misrepresentation, whilst that of the wicked obtains 

(5) Tit. ii. 13. 



111. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 79 

the commendation of virtue ; the justice of God demands that 
the former recover, in the presence and with the suffrage of a 
congregated world, the good name of which they had been un- 
justly deprived before men. 

Again, as the good and the bad perform their good and bad 
actions not without the cooperation of the body, these actions 
are common to the body as their instrument ; and the body, 
therefore, should participate with the soul in the eternal re- 
wards of virtue, or the everlasting punishments of vice ; and 
this can only be accomplished by means of a general resurrec- 
tion and of a general judgment. 

Finally, it was important to prove, that in prosperity and ad- IV 
versity, which are sometimes the promiscuous lot of the good 
and of the bad, every thing is ordered by an all-wise, all-just, and 
all -ruling Providence: it was therefore necessary not only, that 
rewards and punishments should await us in the next life ; but 
that they should be awarded by a public and general judgment : 
that thus they may be better known and rendered more con- 
spicuous to all ; and that, in atonement for the querulous mur- 
murings to which, on seeing the wicked abound in wealth, and 
flourish in honours, even the Saints themselves, as men, have 
sometimes given expression ; a tribute of praise may be offered 
by all to the justice and providence of God. " My feet," says 
the Prophet, " were almost moved, my steps had well nigh 
" slipt ; because I had a zeal on occasion of the wicked, seeing 
" the prosperity of sinners :" and a little after : " Behold these 
" are sinners, and yet abounding in the world, they have ob- 
" tained riches ; and I said, then have I in vain justified my 
" heart, and washed my hands among the innocent : and I have 
" been scourged all the day : and my chastisement hath been 
" in the morning." (6) This has been the frequent complaint 
of many, and a general judgment is, therefore, necessary, lest, 
perhaps, men maybe tempted to say that God, " walking about 
"the poles of heaven," (7) regards not the earth. Wisely, 
therefore, has this truth been made one of the twelve articles 
of the Christian creed, that should any be tempted to doubt for 
a moment, their faith may be confirmed by the satisfactory rea- 
sons which this doctrine presents to the mind. Besides, the y 

(6) Ps. lxxii. 2, 3. 12, 13, 14. (7) Job, xxii. 14. 



80 THE CATECHISM OF 

just should be encouraged by the hope, the wicked appalled by 
the terror of a future judgment ; that knowing the justice of 
God the former may not be disheartened, and, dreading his 
eternal judgments, the latter may be recalled from the paths of 
vice. Hence, speaking of the last day, our Lord and Saviour 
declares, that a general judgment will one day, take place, and 
describes the signs of its approach ; that seeing them, we may 
know that the end of the world is at hand. (8) At his ascen- 
sion also, to console his Apostles, overwhelmed with grief at 
his departure, he sent angels, who said to them : " This Jesus 
" who is tak^n up from you into heaven, shall so come as you 
" have seen him going into heaven." (9) 
Christ not That this judgment is ascribed to Christ our Lord, not only 
God, but as God, but also as man, is expressly declared in Scripture ; 
man uni- ^ or although the power of judging is common to all the Persons 
versal of the blessed Trinity, yet it is specially attributed to the Son, 
because to him also, in a special manner, is ascribed wisdom. 
But that, as man, he will judge the world, is confirmed by the 
testimony of our Lord himself when he says : " As the Father 
" hath life in himself; so he hath given to the Son also, to have 
" life in himself ; and he hath given him power to do judgment, 
man? aS " because he is the Son of man." (10) There is a peculiar pro- 
priety in Christ's sitting in judgment on this occasion ; that, 
as sentence is to be pronounced on mankind, they may see their 
judge with their eyes, and hear him with their ears, and thus 
learn their final doom through the medium of the senses. Most 
just it is also that he, who was most iniquitously condemned by 
the judgment of men, should himself be, afterwards, seen by all 
men sitting in judgment on all. Hence the prince of the Apos- 
tles, when expounding, in the house of Cornelius, the principal 
dogmas of Christianity, and teaching that Christ was suspend- 
ed from a cross, and put to death by the Jews, and rose the 
third day to life, added, "and he has commanded us to preach, 
" and to testify to the people, that this is he, who was appoint- 
" ed of God to be the judge of the living and the dead." (11) 

Siyns The Sacred Scriptures also inform us, that the general judg- 

which are * 

to precede ment shall be preceded by these three principal signs, the 

jSdSent 1 l )reacnin o of the Gospel throughout the world, a defection from 

(8) Math. xxiv. 29. (9) Acts, i. 1 1. 

(10) John, v. 26, 27. (11) Acts, x. 42. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 81 

the faith, and the coming of Antichrist. " This Gospel of the 
" kingdom," says our Lord, " shall be preached in the whole 
" world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall come the 
" consummation." (12) The Apostle also, admonishes us that 
we be not seduced by any one, "as if the day of the Lord were 
" at hand ; for, unless there come a revolt first, and the man of 
" sin be revealed, the son of perdition," (13) the judgment will 
not come. 

The form and procedure of this judgment the pastor will 
easily learn from the oracles of Daniel, (14) the writings of the 
Evangelists and the doctrine of the Apostle. The sentence, al- The Jagt 
so, to be pronounced by the judge, is here deserving of more sentence, 
than ordinary attention. Looking to the just standing on his The good# 
right, with a countenance beaming with joy, the Redeemer 
will pronounce sentence on them, with the greatest benignity, 
in these words : " Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the 
" kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world." 
(15) That nothing can be conceived, more delightful to the 
ear than these words, we shall comprehend, if we only com- 
pare them with the sentence of condemnation to be hurled 
against the wicked ; and call to mind, that by them, the just 
are invited from labour to rest, from the vale of tears to the 
mansions of joy, from temporal misery to eternal happiness, 
the reward of their works of charity. 

Turning next to those who shall stand on his left, he will The bad. 
pour out his justice on them in these words : " Depart from me 
" ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
" his angels." (16) These first words, " depart from me," ex- 
press the heaviest punishment with which the wicked shall be 
visited — their eternal banishment from the sight of God, unre- 
lieved by one consolatory hope of recovering so great a good. 
This Divines call " the pain of loss," because, in hell, the 
wicked shall be deprived of the light of the vision of God. (17) 
The words " ye cursed," which are added, must augment, to 
an extreme degree, their wretched and calamitous condition. 
If, when banished from the Divine presence, they could hope 
for blessing of any sort, it might be to them some source of 

(12) Matth. xxiv. 14. (13) 2 Thess. ii. 2, 3. (14) Dan. vii. 9. 

(15) Math. xxv. 34. (16) Math. xxv. 41. (17) Chrysost. in Mat. 

horn. 23. August, Serm. IS I. detemp. Greg. lib. 9. moral, cap. 46. 



82 THE CATECHISM OF 

consolation ; but deprived of every such expectation that 

could alleviate calamity, the divine justice, whose severity 

their crimes have provoked, pursues them with every species 

of malediction. The words, "into everlasting fire," which 

follow, express another sort of punishment, called by Divines 

" the pain of sense ;" because, like other corporal punishments, 

amongst which, no doubt, fire produces the most intense pain, 

it is felt through the organs of sense. When, moreover, we 

reflect that this pain is to be eternal, we are at once satisfied 

that the punishment of the damned admits of no increase. 

The faith- These are considerations, which the pastor should very fre- 

frequently quently press upon the attention of the faithful ; the truth which 

reminded this Article announces, seen with the eyes of faith, is most ef- 

of the last .'••--. . - . ,,. , . . _ , , 

judgment, ncacious in bridling the perverse propensities of the heart, and 
withdrawing souls from sin. (18) Hence we read in Ecclesi- 
asticus : " Remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin." 
(19) And, indeed, it is almost impossible to find one so prone 
to vice, as not to be capable of being recalled to the pursuit 
of virtue, by the reflection — that the day will come when he 
shall have to render an account before a most rigorous judge, 
not only of all his words and actions, but even of his most se- 
cret thoughts, and shall suffer punishment according to his 
deserts. But the just man must be more and more excited to 
cultivate justice, and, although doomed to spend his life in 
want, and obloquy, and torments, he must be transported with 
the greatest joy, when he looks forward to that day on which 
when the conflicts of this wretched life are over, he shall be 
declared victorious in the hearing of all men ; and admitted 
into his heavenly country, shall be crowned with divine, and 
these, also, eternal honours. It becomes, therefore, the duty 
of the pastor, to exhort the faithful to model their lives after 
the best manner, and exercise themselves in every practice of 
piety ; that thus they may be enabled to look forward with 
greater security, to the great coming day of the Lord, and even, 
as becomes children, desire it most earnestly. 

(18) Aug. serm. 128. de temp. Greg. horn. 39. in Evang. Bernard, serm. 
1. in festo omnium Sanctorum. ( 1 9) Eccles. vii. 40. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 83 



ARTICLE VIII. 



" I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST." 



Hitherto we have expounded, as far as the nature of the Necessity 
subject seemed to require, what regards the first and second Per- ° he H i y 
sons of the Holy Trinity. It now remains to explain what the Ghost. 
Creed contains with regard to the Third Person, the Holy 
Ghost. On this subject, also, the pastor will omit nothing that 
study and assiduity can effect ; for on this, and the preceding 
Articles, error were alike unpardonable. Hence, the Apostle 
is careful to instruct some amongst the Ephesians, with regard 
to the Person of the Holy Ghost. (1) Having asked if they 
had received the Holy Ghost, and having received for answer, 
that they did not so much as know the existence of the Holy 
Spirit, he immediately subjoins: "In whom, therefore, were 
" you baptised ?" — to signify that a distinct knowledge of this 
Article is most necessary to the faithful. From it they derive 
this special fruit — considering, attentively, that whatever they 
possess, they possess through the bounty and beneficence of the 
Holy Spirit, they learn to think more modestly and humbly of 
themselves, and to place all their hopes in the protection of 
God, which is the first step towards consummate wisdom and 
supreme happiness. 

The exposition of this Article, therefore, should begin with Meaning 
the meaning here attached to the words, Holy Ghost ; for, as words^Ho- 
this appellation is equally true when applied to the Father and fr Gnost - 
the^Son, (both are spirit, both holy,) and also includes angels, 
and the souls of the just; care must be taken that the faithful be 
not led into error by the ambiguity of the words. The pastor, 
then, will teach, in this Article, that by the words Holy Ghost, 

(1) Acts, xix. 2. 



84 THE CATECHISM OF 

is understood the third Person of the blessed Trinity ; a sense 
in which they are used, sometimes, in the Old, and frequently 
in the New Testament. Thus David prays : " Take not thy 
" Holy Spirit from me ;" (2) and in the Book of Wisdom we 
read : " Who shall know thy thoughts, except thou give wis- 
" dom, and send thy Holy Spirit from above ?" (3) And in an- 
other place : " He created her in the Holy Ghost." (4) We 
are also commanded, in the New Testament, to be baptised, 
" in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
" Ghost;" (5) we read that the most holy Virgin conceived of 
the Holy Ghost; (6) and we are sent by St. John to Christ, 
"who baptiseth us in the Holy Ghost;" (7) with a variety of 
other passages in which the words Holy Ghost occur. 
Why the Nor should it be deemed matter of surprise, that a proper 
son of the name is not given to the third, as to the first and second Per- 
holy Trim- song . ^ secon( j Person is designated by a proper name, and 
proper called Son, because, as has been explained in the preceding Ar- 
ticles, his eternal birth from the Father is properly called gen- 
eration. As, therefore, that birth is expressed by the word 
generation ; so the Person, emanating from that generation, is 
properly called Son, and the Person, from whom he emanates, 
Father. But as the production of the third Person is character- 
ised by no proper name, but is called spiration and procession ; 
the Person produced is, consequently, characterised by no pro- 
per name. As, however, we are obliged to borrow, from cre- 
ated objects, the names given to God, and knew no other cre- 
ated means of communicating nature and essence than that of 
generation; we cannot discover a proper name to express the 
manner in which God communicates himself entire, by the force 
of his love. Unable, therefore, to express the emanation of the 
third Person, by a proper, we have recourse to the common 
name of Holy Ghost; a name, however, peculiarly appropriate 
to him who infuses into us spiritual life, and without whose ho- 
ly inspiration, we can do nothing meritorious of eternal life. 
The Holy But the people, when once acquainted with the import of 
quallyGod the name, should, first of all, be taught that he is equally God 
Fatherand w ^ ^ e father and the Son, equally omnipotent, eternal, per- 

the Son. 

(2) Ps. 1. 12, 13. (3) Wis. ix. 17. (4) Eccles. i. 9. (5) Matth. xxviii. 19. 
(6) Matth. i. £0. Luke, i. 35. (7) John, i, 33. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 85 

feet, the supreme good, infinitely wise, and of the same nature 
with the Father and the Son. All this is, obviously enough, *: 
implied by the force of the word " in," when we say : " I be- 
"lieve in the Holy Ghost;" which, to mark the particularity 
of our faith, is prefixed to each Person of the Trinity ; and is 
also clearly established by many passages of Scripture : when, II. 
in the Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter says : " Ananias ! why 
" hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart ?" he immediately 
adds : " thou hast not lied to men but to God ;" (8) calling him, 
to whom he had before given the name Holy Ghost, immediate- 
ly after, God. 

The Apostle, also, writing to the Corinthians, interprets III. 
what he says of God, as said of the Holy Ghost: " There are," 
says he, " diversities of operations, but the same God, who 
"workethall in all ;" "but," continues he, " all these things 
" one and the same spirit worketh, dividing to every one ac- 
" cording as he will." (9) In the Acts of the Apostles, also, IV. 
what the phophets attribute to one God, St. Paul ascribes to the 
Holy Ghost; thus Isaias had said: "I heard the voice of the 
" Lord, saying: whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? 
" and I said : Lo ! here, am I, send me. And he said : go, and 
" thou shalt say to this people : Blind the heart of this people, 
" and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ! least they 
" see with their eyes, and hear with their ears :" (10) Having 
cited these words, the Apostle adds : " Well did the Holy 
" Ghost speak to our fathers, by Isaias the prophet." (1 1 ) 

Again, the Sacred Scriptures, by annexing the Person of the 
Holy Ghost to those of the Father and the Son ; as when bap- 
tism is commanded to be administered, " in the name of the Fa- 
" ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," leaves no room 
whatever to doubt the truth of this mystery : for, if the Fa- 
ther is'God, and the Son God, why not confess that the Holy 
Ghost, who is united with them in the same degree of honour, 
is also God ? Besides, baptism administered in the name of any VI 
creature, can be of no effect : " Were you baptised in the name 
"of Paul?" (12) says the Apostle, to show that such baptism 
could have availed them nothing to salvation. Having, there- 

(3) Acts, v. 3, 4. (9) lCor. xii. 6, 11. (10) Isaias, vi. S, 9, 10. 

(11) Acts, xxviii. 25. (\2) 1 Cor. i. 13. 



V. 



86 THE CATECHISM OF 

fore, been baptised in the name of the Holy Ghost, we must 
acknowledge the Holy Ghost to be God. 

VII. But this same order of the three Persons, which proves the 
divinity of the Holy Ghost, is observable in the epistle of St. 
John : " There are three who give testimony in heaven : the Fa- 
" ther, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one ;" 
(13) and, also, in that noble eulogy, or form of praise to the 
Trinity : " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
" Holy Ghost," which closes the psalms and divine praises. 

VIII. Finally, not to omit an argument which goes, most forcibly, 
to establish this truth, the authority of Holy Scripture proves, 
that whatever faith attributes to God, belongs equally to the 
Holy Ghost : to him is ascribed, in Scripture, the honour of 
temples : " Know you not," says the Apostle, " that your mem- 
"bers are the temple of the Holy Ghost;" (14) and also sanc- 
tification, (15) vivification, (16) to search the depths of God, 
(17) to speak by the prophets, (18) and to be present in all 
places ; (19) all of which are attributed to God alone. 

The Holy The pastor will, also, accurately explain to the faithful, that 
distinct the Holy Ghost is God, so as to be the third Person in the 
person divine nature, distinct from the Father and the Son, and pro- 

from the ; . . * 

Father and duced by their will. To say nothing of other testimonies of 
the on: g cr jpt ure? the form of baptism, taught by the Redeemer, (20) 
furnishes an irrefragable proof that the Holy Ghost is the 
third Person, self-existent in the divine nature, and distinct 
from the other Persons : a doctrine taught, also, by the 
Apostle, when he says : " The grace of our Lord Jesus 
" Christ, and the charity of God, and the communication of 
" the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen." (21) This same 
truth, is still more explicitly declared in the words which 
were here added by the Fathers of the first Council of Con- 
stantinople, to refute the impious folly of Macedonius: " And 
" in the Holy Ghost the Lord and giver of life, who proceed- 
" eth from the Father, and the Son : who, together with the 
" Father and the Son, is adored and glorified ; who spoke by 
" the prophets." Thus, by confessing the Holy Ghost to be 
"Lord," they declare, how far he excels the angels, who are 
the perfection of created intelligence ; for, " they are all," says 

(13) 1 John, v. 7. (14) 1 Cor. vi. 19. (15) 2 Thess. ii. 13. 1 Pet. i. 2. 
(16) John, vi. 64. (17) 2 Cor. iii. 6. 1 Cor. ii. 10. (18) 2 Pet. i. 21. 
(19) Wis. i. 7. (20) Matth. xxviii. 19. (21) 2 Cor. xiii. '". 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 87 

the Apostle, "ministering spirits, sent to minister for them 
" who shall receive the inheritance of salvation." (22) 

They, also, designate the Holy Ghost: " The giver of life," Why call- 
because the soul lives more by an union with God, than the e er nife/>" 
body is nurtured and sustained by an union with the soul. As, 
then, the Sacred Scriptures ascribe to the Holy Ghost this 
union of the soul with God, with great propriety, is he deno- 
minated " the giver of life." 

With regard to the words immediately succeeding : " who His pro- 
" proceedeth from the Father and the Son," the faithful are to f r e s ^° t n he 
be taught, that the Holy Ghost proceeds, by eternal procession, Father and 
from the Father and the Son, as from one principle: a truth 
propounded to us by an ecclesiastical rule, from which the 
least departure is unwarrantable, confirmed by the authority of 
the Sacred Scriptures, and defined by the Councils of the 
Church. Christ himself, speaking of the Holy Ghost, says : 
" He shall glorify me, because he shall receive of mine ;" (23) 
and we, also, find that the Holy Ghost is, sometimes, called, in 
Scripture, " the Spirit of Christ," sometimes, " the Spirit of 
" the Father ;" is, one time, said to be sent by the Father, (24) 
another time, by the Son ; (25) thus signifying, in unequivocal 
terms, that he proceeds alike from the Father and the Son. 
" He," says St. Paul, "who has not the Spirit of Christ belongs 
" not to him." (26) In his epistle to the Galatians, he also calls 
the Holy Ghost the Spirit of Christ: " God," says he, " hath 
" sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying : Abba, Fa- 
" ther." (27) In the Gospel of St. Matthew, he is called the 
Spirit of the Father : " It is not you that speak, but the Spir- 
" it of your Father that speaketh in you ;" (28) and our Lord 
" himself said, at his last supper: " When the Paraclete com- 
" eth, whom I will send you, the Spirit of Truth, who pro- 
" ceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me." 
(29) On another occasion, he declares, that he is to be sent 
by the Father: "whom," says he, "the Father will send in 
" my name." (30) Understanding by these words, the pro- 
cession of the Holy Ghost, we come to the inevitable conclu- 
sion, that he proceeds from the Father and the Son. This ex- 

(22) Heb. i. 14. (23) John, xvi. 14. (24) John, xiv. 26. 

(25) John, xv. 26. (26) Rom. viii. 9. (27) Gal. iv. 6. 

(28) Matth. x. 20. (29) John, xv. 26. (30) John, xiv. 26. 



88 THE CATECHISM OF 

position embraces the doctrine to be taught with regard to the 
Person of the Holy Ghost. 
The gifts It is, also, the duty of the pastor to teach that there are cer- 
\y Ghost, tain admirable effects, certain exalted gifts of the Holy Ghost, 
which are said to originate and emanate from him, as from a 
perennial fountain of goodness. Although the extrinsic works 
of the most Holy Trinity are common to the three Persons, 
yet many of them are attributed, epecially, to the Holy Ghost; 
giving us to understand that they arise from the boundless love 
of God towards us : for as the Holy Ghost proceeds from the 
divine will, inflamed, as it were, with love, we can compre- 
hend that these effects which are referred, particularly, to the 
Holy Ghost, are the result of the boundless love of God to- 
wards us. 

Hence it is, that the Holy Ghost is called a gift ; for by a 
gift, we understand that which is kindly and gratuitously be- 
stowed, without reference to anticipated remuneration. What- 
ever gifts and graces, therefore, have been bestowed on us, 
b\ Almighty God, and " what have we," says the Apostle, 
"that we have not received from God?" (31) we should pi- 
ously and gratefully acknowledge, as bestowed by the grace 
and gift of the Holy Ghost. 

These gifts are numerous : not to mention the creation of the 
world, the propagation and government of all created beings, 
as noticed in the first Article ; we proved, a little before, that 
the giving of life is, particularly, attributed to the Holy Ghost, 
and the propriety of this attribution is further confirmed by 
the testimony of the prophet Ezekiel : " I will give you spirit 
" and you shall live." (32) The prophet Isaias, however, enu- 
merates the effects peculiarly attributed to the Holy Ghost: 
" The spirit of wisdom, and understanding, the spirit of coun- 
" sel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the 
" spirit of the fear of the Lord ;" (33) effects which are called 
the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and, sometimes, the Holy Ghost. 
Wisely, therefore, does St. Augustine admonish us, whenever 
we meet the word Holy Ghost, in Scripture, to distinguish 
whether it means the third Person of the Trinity, or his gifts 

(31) 1 Cor. iv. 7. (32) Ezek. xxxvii. 6. (33) Isaias, xi. 3. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 89 

and operations : (34) they are as distinct as the Creator is from 
the creature. The diligence of the pastor, in expounding these 
truths, should be the greater, as it is from these gifts of the 
Holy Ghost that we derive rules of Christian life, and are en- 
abled to know if the Holy Ghost dwells within us. 

But the grace of justification, " which signs us with the ho- Justifying 

• • n ■ , • , , i r • , • „ Grace, the 

" ly spirit oi promise, who is the pledge ot our inheritance," transcen- 
(35) transcends his highest gifts : it unites us to God, in the jj£ "he^Ho- 
closest bonds of love — lights up within us the sacred flame of h Ghost, 
piety — forms us to newness of life — renders us partakers of 
the divine nature — and enables us." to be called and really to 
" be the sons of God." (36) (37) 

(34) D. August, lib. 15. de Trinit. cap. xviii. 19. (35)Eph. i. 13. 

(36). 1 John, iii. 1. 2 Pet. i. 4. (37) Council Trid. sess. 6. 



90 



THE CATECHISM OF 



ARTICLE IX. 



BELIEVE THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH." 



Why this I T w iH not t» e difficult to estimate the care with which the 

Article is p as tor should explain this ninth Article to the faithful, (1) if we 

fully ex- attend to the following important considerations : that, as S. 

plame . Augustine observes, (2) the prophets spoke more plainly and 

explicitly of the Church than of Christ, foreseeing that on this 

a much greater number may err and be deceived, than on the 

mystery of the incarnation : after ages were to behold wicked 

men, who, imitative as the ape, that would fain pass for one of 

the human species, arrogate to themselves exclusively the name 

of Catholic, and, with effrontery as unblushing as it is impious, 

assert that with them alone is to be found the Catholic Church 

— Secondly, that he, whose mind is deeply impressed with this 

truth, will experience little difficulty in avoiding the awful dan- 

Who is to g er °f heresy ; for a person is not to be called a heretic so soon 

be called a as h e errs in matters of faith : then onlv is he to be so called, 

heretic. . J 

when, in defiance of the authority of the Church, he maintains 
impious opinions, with unyielding pertinacity. As, therefore, 
so long as he holds what this Article proposes to be believed, 
no man can be infected with the contagion of heresy ; the pas- 
tor should use every diligence, that the faithful, knowing this 
mystery, and prepared against the wiles of Satan, persevere in 
the true faith. 

But this Article hinges upon the preceding one, for, having 
already established that the Holy Ghost is the source and giver 

(1) 1 John, iii. 1. 2 Pet. i. 4. (2) S. Aug. in Ps. xxx. 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 91 

of all holiness, we here confess our belief in the Church which 
he has endowed with sanctity. 

As the word Ecclesia (church) which is borrowed from the ^ eanm g 

\ ' m ot the word 

Greek, has been applied, since the preaching of the Gospel, to Ecclesia; 
sacred things, it becomes necessary to explain its meaning. The urc 
word Ecclesia (church) means a calling forth ; but writers, af- 
terwards used it to signify a council or assembly. Nor does it 
matter whether the word is used in reference to the professors 
of a true or false religion : in the Acts of the Apostles it is said 
of the people of Ephesus, that, when the town-clerk had ap- 
peased a tumultuous assemblage, he said : " and if you enquire 
" after any other matter, it may be decided in a lawful assem- 
" bly" (Ecclesia) ; (3) The Ephesians, who were worship- 
pers of Diana, are thus called by the Apostle, " a lawful assem- 
" bly" (Ecclesia) : Nor are the Gentiles only, who know not 
God, called a church or assembly, (Ecclesia) : the councils of 
wicked and impious men are also, sometimes, called by the 
same name : " I have hated the assembly (Ecclesiam) of the 
" malignant," says the Psalmist, " and with the wicked I will 
not sit." (4) However, in ordinary Scripture-phrase, the word 
was afterwards used to designate the Christian commonwealth 
only, and the assemblies of the faithful ; that is, of those who 
were called by faith to the light of truth, and the knowledge 
of God ; who, forsaking the darkness of ignorance and error, 
worship the living and true God in piety and holiness, and 
serve him from their whole hearts. In a word, " the Church," 
says S. Augustine, " consists of the faithful dispersed through- 
" out the world." (5) 

Under the word " Church" are comprehended no unimpor- Mysteries 
tant mysteries, for, in this " calling forth," which the word word com- 
Ecclesia (church) signifies, we at once recognize the benig- P nses - 
nity and splendour of divine grace, and understand that the 
Church is very unlike all other commonwealths : they rest on 
human reason and human prudence : this, on the wisdom and 
councils of God ; for he called us by the interior inspiration of 
the Holy Ghost, who, through the ministry and labour of his 
pastors, and preachers, penetrates into the hearts of men. 

(3) Acts, xix. 39. (4) Ps. xxv. 5. (5) S. Aug. in Ps. cxlix. 



92 THE CATECHISM OF 

In what it Moreover, from this calling we shall better understand the 
from the end which the Christian should propose to himself, that is, the 
s ^ nagogue knowledge and possession of things eternal, when we reflect 
why the faithful, living under the law, were, of old, called a 
synagogue, that is, a congregation : as S. Augustine observes, 
" they were so called, because, like cattle which usually go 
" together, they looked only to terrestrial and transitory 
"things;" (6) and hence the Christian people are called a 
Church, not a synagogue, because, despising terrestrial and 
transitory things, they aspired only to things heavenly and 
eternal. 
Other Many other names, replete with mysteries, are employed, 

the Ch'ch. by an easy deflection from their original meaning, to designate 
the Christian commonwealth : by the Apostle it is called " the 
" House and Edifice of God," when writing to Timothy, he 
says, " If I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou ought- 
"est to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the 
" Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth." (7) 
I. It is called a house, because it consists, as it were, of one 
family, governed by one Father, and enjoying a community of 
II# all spiritual goods. It is also called the flock of Christ, of 
W.- which he is "the door and the shepherd." (8) It is called the 
spouse of Christ: "I have espoused you to one husband," 
says the Apostle to the Corinthians, " that I may present you 
" a chaste virgin to Christ :" (9) and writing to the Ephesians, 
he says : " Husbands, love your wives, as Christ, also, loved 
" the Church, and delivered himself up for it:" (10) and, also, 
speaking of marriage, he says : " This is a great sacrament, 
IV. « but I speak in Christ and in the Church." (11) Finally, the 
Church is called the body of Christ, as may be seen in the 
epistles of S. Paul to the Ephesians, (12) and Colossians : (13) 
appellations each of which has considerable influence in excit- 
ing the faithful to prove themselves worthy the boundless cle- 
mency and goodness of God, who chose them to be his peo- 
ple. 
The Ch'ch Having explained these things, it will be necessary to enu- 
ut and" nierate the several component parts of the Church, and point 

militant; , . _ #- . , _. ... ,„ 

(6) Aug. in Ps. lxxvu. et Ixxxi. (7) 1 Tim. m. 15. 

(8) Ezek. xxxiv. 5. John, x. 7. (9) 2 Cor. xi. 2. (_10) Eph. v. 25. 

(ll)Eph.v. 32. (12) Eph. i. 23. (13) Colos. i. 24. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 93 

out their difference, in order that the faithful may the better 
comprehend the nature, properties, gifts and graces of the 
Church, the object of God's special predilection ; and unceas- 
ingly offer to the divine majesty the homage of their grateful 
praise. The Church consists principally of two parts, the 
one called the Church triumphant, the other, the Church mili- 
tant. (14) The Church triumphant is that most glorious and Triumph- 
happy assemblage of blessed spirits and of those souls who ant ' 
have triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the devil, and, 
now exempt from the troubles of this life, are blessed with 
the fruition of everlasting bliss. The Church militant is the Militant. 
society of all the faithful still dwelling on earth, and is called 
militant, because it wages eternal war with those implacable 
enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil. We are not, 
however, hence to infer that there are two Churches : they are 
two constituent parts of one Church ; one part gone before, 
and now in the possession of its heavenly country ; the other, 
following every day, until, at length, united to its invisible 
head, it shall repose in the fruition of endless felicity. (15) 

The Church militant is composed of two classes of persons, Composed 
the good and the bad, both professing the same faith and par- an d the 
taking of the same sacraments ; yet differing in their manner b 
of life and morality. The good are those who are linked to- 
gether not only by the profession of the same faith, and the 
participation of the same sacraments ; but also by the spirit of 
grace, and the bond of charity : of whom St. Paul says : " The 
"Lord knoweth who are his." (16) Who they are that com- 
pose this class we, also, may remotely conjecture ; pronounce 
with certainty we cannot. (17) Of this part of his Church, 
therefore, our Lord does not speak, when he refers us to the 
Church, and commands us to hear and to obey her : (1 8) unknown 
as is that portion of the Church, how ascertain with certainty, 
whose decision to recur to, whose authority to obey ? The 
Church, therefore, as the Sacred Scriptures, and the writings 
of the holy men who are gone before" us, testify, includes with- 
in her fold the good and the bad ; and this interpretation is sus- 

(14) Aug. Ench. c. 10. (15) Aug. lib. ii. de Civ. Dei, c. 9. 

(16) 3 Tim.ii. 19. (17) Cone. Trid. sess. 6. c. 12: (18) Math, xviii. 17. 



94 THE CATECHISM OF 

tained by the Apostle, when he says : " There is one body and 
fom U a e r S i- & "one spirit." (19) Thus understood, the Church is known, 
sons of the and is compared to a city built on a mountain, and seen from 
every side. (20) As al! must yield obedience to her authori- 
ty, it is necessary that she may be known by all. That the 
Church is composed of the good and the bad we learn from 
many parables- contained in the Gospel : thus, the kingdom of 
heaven, that is, the Church militant, is compared to a net cast 
into the sea, (21) to a field in which tares were sown with the 
good grain, (22) to a threshing floor on which the grain is 
mixed up with the chaff, (23) and, also, to ten virgins, five of 
whom were wise, and five foolish; (24) and, long before, we 
trace a figure and striking resemblance of the Church in the 
ark of Noah, which contained not only clean, but also un- 
clean animals. (25) But, although the Catholic faith uniform- 
ly and truly teaches that the good and the bad belong to the 
Church, yet the same faith declares that the condition of both 
is very different : the wicked are contained in the Church, as 
the chaff is mingled with the grain on the threshing floor, or 
as dead members, sometimes, remain attached to a living 
body. 
Those who Hence, there are but three classes of persons excluded 
ed from fr° m ner pale, infidels, heretics and schismatics, and excom- 
her pale. mU nicated persons ; infidels, because they never belonged to, 
and never knew the Church, and were never made partakers 
of any of her sacraments ; heretics and schismatics, because 
they have separated from the Church, and belong to her, on- 
ly as deserters belong to the army from which they have de- 
serted. It is not, however, to be denied that they are still 
subject to the jurisdiction of the Church, inasmuch as they are 
liable to have judgment past on their opinions, to be visited 
with spiritual punishments, and denounced with anathema. 
Finally, excommunicated persons, because excluded by her 
sentence from the number of her children, belong not to her 
communion until restored by repentance. But with regard to 
the rest; however wicked and flagitious, it is certain that they 

(19) Eph. iv. 4. (20) Mat. v. 15. (21) Mat. xiii. 47. (22) Mat. xiii. 24. 
(23) Luke, iii. 1 7. (24) Mat. xxv. I, 2. (25) Gen. vii. 2. I Pet. iii. 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 95 

still belong to the Church ; and of this the faithful are fre- 
quently to be reminded, in order to be convinced that, were 
even the lives of her ministers debased by crime, they are 
still within her pale, and, therefore, lose no part of the pow- 
er, with which her ministry invests them. 

But portions of the Universal Church are, also, usually Simons 
called a Church, as when the Apostle mentions the Church of the word 
at Coiinth, (26) at Galatia, (27) at Laodicea, (28) at Thes- Chlirch ' 
salonica. (29) The private houses of the faithful he, also, 
calls Churches : the Church in the house of Priscilla and 
Aquila he commands to be saluted : (30) and in another place, 
he says : " Aquila and Priscilla, with their domestic Church, 
" salute you much." (31) Writing to Philemon, he makes use 
of the same word, in the same sense. (32) Sometimes, al- 
so, the word Church is used to signify the prelates and 
pastors of the Church : " If he will not hear thee," says our 
Lord, "tell it to the Church." (33) Here the word Church 
means the authorities of the Church. The place in which the 
faithful assemble to hear the word of God, or for other reli- 
gious purposes, is, also, called a Church ; (34) but, in this Ar- 
ticle, the word is specially used to signify the good and the bad, 
the governing and the governed. 

The distinctive marks of this Church are also to be made Distinc- 
known to the faithful, that thus they may be enabled to esti- of the 
mate the extent of the blessing, conferred by God on those Church - 
who have had the happiness to be born and educated within 
her pale. The first mark of the true Church is described in 
the Creed of the Fathers, and consists in unity : " My dove is 
" one, my beautiful one is one." (35) So vast a multitude, I. 
scattered far and wide, is called one, for the reasons mention- m y ' 
ed by S. Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians : " One Lord, one 
" faith, one baptism." (36) This Church has, also, but one 
ruler and one governor, the invisible one, Christ, whom the 
Eternal Father " hath made head over all the Church, which 
" is his body ;" (37) the visible one, him, who, as legitimate 

(26) 2 Cor. i. 1. (27) Gal. i. 2. (28) Colos. iv. !6. 

(29) 1 Thes. i. 1. (30) Rom. xvi. 3-5. (31)1 Cor. xvi. 19. 

(32) Phil. i. 2. (33) Mat. xviii. 17. (34) 1 Cor. xi. 18. 

(35) Cant. vi. 8. (36) Eph. iv. 5. (37) Eph. i. 22, 23. 



96 THE CATECHISM OF 

successor of Peter the prince of the Apostles, fills the aposto- 
lic chair. 
A visible That this visible head is necessary to establish and preserve 
cessary to unity in the Church is the unanimous accord of the Fathers ; 
unity" 6 an( i on this, the sentiments of S. Jerome, in his work against 
Jovinian,are as clearly conceived, as they are happily express- 
ed : " One," says he, " is chosen, that, by the appointment of 
" a head, all occasion of schism may be removed ;" (38) and 
to Damasus, " Let envy cease, let the pride of Roman ambi- 
" tion be humbled : I speak to the successor of the fisherman, 
" and to the disciple of the cross. Following no chief but 
" Christ, I am united in communion with your Holiness, that 
" is, with the chair of Peter. I know that on that rock is 
" built the Church. Whoever will eat the lamb outside this 
" house is profane : whoever is not in the ark of Noah shall 
" perish in the flood." The same doctrine was, long before, 
established by SS. Irenaeus, (39) and Cyprian : (40) the latter, 
speaking of the unity of the Church, observes, " The Lord 
" said to Peter, ' I say to thee Peter ! thou art Peter ; and up- 
'"on this rock I will build my Church:' (41) he builds his 
" Church on one ; and although, after his resurrection, he gave 
" equal power to all his Apostles, saying, ' As the Father hath 
" ' sent me, I also send you. Receive ye the Holy Ghost ;' (42) 
" yet, to display unity, he disposed, by his own^authority, the 
" origin of this unity, which had its beginning with one, &c." 
Again, Optatus of Milevis says : " It cannot be ascribed to ig- 
" norance on your part, knowing, as you do, that the episcopal 
u chair, in which, as head of all the Apostles, Peter sat, was, 
" first, fyced by him in the city of Rome; that^ in him alone 
" may be preserved the unity of the Church ; and that the oth- 
" er Apostles may not claim each a chair for himself; so that, 
" now, he, who erects another, in opposition to this single chair, 
" is a schismatic and a prevaricator." (43) In the next place, 
S. Basil has these words : " Peter is made the foundation, be- 
" cause he says : ' Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God :' 

(38) S. Hyeron. lib. 1. contr. Jovin. in med. et epist. 57. 

(39) Iren. lib. 3. contr. haeres. cap. 3. 

(40) B. Cyprian, de simp, prseel. in principio fere. . (41) Math. xvi. 18. 
(42) John, xx, 21, 22. (43) Optat. Initio lib. 2. ad Parmen. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 97 

" and hears in reply that he is a rock ; but although a rock, he 
" is not such a rock as Christ, for in himself Christ is, truly, an 
" immoveable rock, but Peter, only by virtue of that rock ; for 
" God bestows his dignities on others : He is a priest and he 
" makes priests; a rock and he makes a rock : what belongs to 
" himself, he bestows on his servants." (44) Lastly, St. Am- 
brose says : " Should any one object, that the Church is con- 
" tent with one head and one spouse, Jesus Christ, and requires 
"no other; the answer is obvious; for, as we deem Christ 
u not only the author of all the Sacraments, but, also, their in- 
" visible minister ; (he it is who baptises, he it is who absolves, 
" although men are appointed by him the eternal ministers of 
" the sacraments) so has he placed over his Church, which he 
" governs by his invisible spirit, a man to be his vicar, and the 
"minister of his power: a visible Church requires a visible 
" head, and, therefore, does the Saviour appoint Peter head 
" and pastor of all the faithful, when, in the most ample terms, 
" he commits to his care the feeding of all his sheep ; (45) de- 
" siring that he, who was to succeed him, should be invested 
" with the very same power of ruling and governing the entire 
« Church." 

The Apostle, moreover, writing to the Corinthians, tells theSthful 

them, that there is but one and the same Spirit, who imparts how t0 h , e 

. preserved, 

grace to the faithful^ as the soul communicates life to the 

members of the body. (46) Exhorting the Ephesians to pre- 
serve this unity, he says, " Be careful to keep the unity of the 
" Spirit in th# bond of peace." (47) As the human body con- 
sists of many members, animated by one soul, which gives 
sight to the eye#, heariag to the ears, and to the other senses, 
the power of discharging their respective functions ; so, the 
mystical body of Christ, which is the Church, is composed of 
many faithful. The hope, to which we are called, is, also, 
one, as the Apostle tells us in the same place : (48) we all 
hope for the same consummation, eternal life. Finally, the 
faith, which all are bound to believe and to profess, is one: 
" Let there be no schisms amongst you ;" (49) and baptism, 

(44) Basil, hom. 29. quae est dft psBnit. (46) John, xxi. 15. 

(46) 1 Cor. xii. 11, 12. (47) Eph. iv. 3. (43J Eph. iv. 4. (49 j 1 Cor. i. 10. 

13 



98 THE CATECHISM OF 

which is the seal of our solemn initiation into the Christian 
faith, is, also, one. (50 N 
Holiness Another distinctive mark of the Church is holiness, as we 
learn from these words of the prince of the apostles : " You 
"are a chosen generation, a holy nation." (51) The Church 
is called holy, because she is consecrated and dedicated to 
God ; (52) as other things, such as vessels, vestments, altars, 
when appropriated and dedicated to the worship of God, al- 
though material, are called holy ; and, in the same sense, the 
first-born, who were dedicated to the Most High God, were, 
also, called holy. (53) 

It should not be deemed matter of surprise, that the Church, 
although numbering amongst her children many sinners, is 
called holy; for as those who profess any art, although they 
should depart from its rules, are called artists; so the faithful, 
although offending in many things, and violating the engage- 
ments, to the observance of which they had, solemnly, pledg- 
ed themselves, are called holy, because they are made the peo- 
ple of God, and are consecrated to Christ, by baptism and 
faith. Hence, S. Paul calls the Corinthians sanctified and ho- 
ly, although it is certain that amongst them there were some, 
whom he severely rebuked as carnal, and, also, charged with 
grosser crimes. (54) She is, also, to be called holy, because, 
as the body, she is united to her head, Christ Jesus, (55) the 
fountain of all holiness, from whom flow the graces of the 
Holy Spirit, and the riches of the divine bounty. S. Augus- 
tine interpreting these words of the prophet : " Preserve my 
" soul because I am holy," (56) thus admirably expresses him- 
self: " Let the body of Christ boldly say, let also, that one 
" man, exclaiming from the ends of the earth boldly say, with 
" Christ his head, and under Christ his head ; I am holy : for 
"he received the grace of holiness, the grace of baptism and 
" of remission of sins ;" and a little after : " If all Christians and 
" all the faithful, having been baptised in Christ, have put him 
" on, according to these words of the Apostle : ' as many of 
you as have been baptised in Christ, have put on Christ :' 



U i 



(50) Eph. iv. 5. (51)1 Pet. ii. 9. (5?J Levit. xxvii. 28, 30. 

(53) Exod. xiii. 12. (54) 1 Cor. i. 2. 1 Cor. Hi. S. 

(bb) Eph. iv. 15, 16. (56j Ps. lxxxv. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 99 

" (57) if they are made members of his body, and yet say they 
" are not holy, they do an injury to their head, whose mem- 
" bers are holy." (58) (59) Moreover, the Church alone has 
the legitimate worship of sacrifice, and the salutary use of the 
sacraments, by which, as the efficacious instruments of divine 
grace, God establishes us in true holiness; so that to possess true 
holiness we must belong to this church. The Church, there- 
fore, it is clear, is holy, (60) and holy, because she is the body 
of Christ, by whom she is sanctified, and in whose blood she is 
washed. (61) (62) 

The third mark of the Church is, that she is Catholic, that,, } l \: . t 

5 ' Catholicity 

is, universal ; and justly is she called Catholic, because, as S. 
Augustine says : " She is diffused by the splendor of one faith 
" from the rising to the setting sun." (63) Unlike republics 
of human institution, or the conventicles of heretics, she is not 
circumscribed within the limits of any one kingdom, nor con- 
fined to the members of any one society of men ; but embraces, 
within the amplitude of her love, all mankind, whether barba- 
rians or Scythians, slaves or freemen, male or female. There- 
fore is it written, " Thou hast redeemed us to God in thy 
" blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, 
U and hast made us to our God, a kingdom." (64) Speaking of 
the Church, David says : " Ask of me, and I will give thee the 
" Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth 
"for thy possession:" (65) and also, "I will be mindful of 
" Rahab and of Babylon knowing me ;" (66) and " This man 
" and that man is born in her." (67) To this Chruch, " built 
" on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets," (68) be- 
long all the faithful who have existed from Adam to the present 
day, or who shall exist, in the profession of the true faith, to 
the end of time ; all of whom are founded and raised upon the 
one corner stone, Christ, Avho made both one, and announced 
peace to them that are near, and to them that are afar. She 
is, also, called universal, because all who desire eternal salva- 

(57) Gal. iii. 27. (5SJ Eph. v. 26, 27, SO. (59) S. Aug. in Psal. lxxxv. 2. 
(60) Eph. i. 1-4. (HI) Eph. i. 7, 13. v. 26. 

(62) De sanctitate Ecclesise vide Justin, mart, in utraque Apol. Tert. in 
Apol. Aug. contr. Fulg.c. 17. Gregor. Moral. L. 37. c. 7. 

(63) S. Aug. serm. 131 & 181. de temp. (64) Apoc. v. 9, 10. (65) Ps. ii. 8. 
(66) Ps. lxxxvi. 4. (67) Ps. lxxxvi. 5. (68) Eph. ii. 20. 



100 THE CATECHISM OF 

tion must cling to and embrace her, like those who entered the 
ark, to escape perishing in the flood. (69) This, therefore, is 
to be taught as a most just criterion, to distinguish the true from 
a false Church. 
j^\. The true Church is, also, to be known from her origin, which 

city. she derives, under the law of grace, from the Apostles ; for 

her doctrines are neither novel nor of recent origin, but were 
delivered, of old, by the Apostles, and disseminated throughout 
the world. Hence, no one can, for a moment, doubt that the 
impious opinions which heresy invents, opposed, as they are, to 
the doctrines taught by the Church from the days of the Apos- 
tles to the present time, are very different from the faith of 
the true Church. That all, therefore, may know the true Cath- 
olic Church, the Fathers, guided by the Spirit of God, added 
to the Creed the word " apostolic ;" (70) for the Holy Ghost, 
who presides over the Church, governs her by no other than 
Apostolic men ; and this spirit, first imparted to the Apostles, 
has, by the infinite goodness of God, always continued in the 
Church. But as this one Church, because governed by the 
Holy Ghost, cannot err in faith or morals, it necessarily follows, 
that all other societies arrogating to themselves the name of 
Church, because guided by the spirit of darkness, are sunk in 
the most pernicious errors both doctrinal and moral. 

Figures of But as the figures of the Old Testament have considerable 
influence in exciting the minds of the faithful, and recalling to 
their recollection these most salutary truths, and are, princi- 
pally on this account, mentioned by the Apostle, the pastor will 
not pass by so copious a source of instruction. Amongst these 
figures the ark of Noah holds a conspicuous place. It was con- 
structed by the command of God, (71) in order, no doubt, to 
signify the Church, which God has so constituted, as that who- 
ever enters her, through baptism, may be safe from all danger 
of eternal death, while such as are not within her, like those 
who were not in the ark, are overwhelmed by their own 
crimes. 
n - Another figure presents itself in the great city of Jerusa- 

(69) Gen. vii. 7. (70) De verse Ecclesise nolis vide Aug. contra epist. 

fundamenti, cap. 4. Tertul. lib. toto de prsescript. (71) Gen. vi. 14. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 101 

lem, (72) which, in Scripture, often means the Church. In Je- 
rusalem only was it lawful to offer sacrifice to God, and in the 
Church of God only are to be found the true worship and true 
sacrifice which can, at all, be acceptable to God. Finally, 
with regard to the Church, the pastor will teach how to be- Church to 
lieve the Church can constitute an article of faith. Reason, and how?' 
it is true, and the senses are competent to ascertain the exist- 
ence of the Church, that is, of a society of men devoted and 
consecrated to Jesus Christ ; nor does faith seem necessary in 
order to understand a truth which is acknowledged by Jews 
and Turks : but it is from the light of faith only, not from the 
deductions of reason, that the mind can comprehend the mys- 
teries, which, as has been already glanced at, and as shall be, 
hereafter, more fully developed, when we come to treat of the 
Sacrament of Orders, are contained in the Church of God. As, 
therefore, this Article, as well as the others, is placed above 
the reach, and defies the strength, of the human understanding, 
most justly do we confess, that human reason cannot arrive at 
a knowledge of the origin, privileges and dignity of the 
Church; these we can contemplate only with the eyes of 
faith. 

This Church was founded not by man, but by the immortal The 
God himself, who built her upon a most solid rock : " The by whom 
" Highest Himself," says the Prophet, "hath founded her." founded> 
(73) Hence, she is called "The inheritance of God," (74) 
" The people of God," (75) and the power, which she possess- 
es, is not from man but from God. As this power, therefore, 
cannot be of human origin, divine faith can alone enable us to 
understand that the keys of the kingdom of Heaven are depo- 
sited with the Church, (76) that tojier has been confided the 
power of remitting sins ; (77) of denouncing excommunica- 
tion ; (78) and of consecrating the real body of Christ ; (79) 
and that her children have not here a permanent dwelling, but 
look for one above. (80) 

We are, therefore, bound to believe that there is one Holy Webeiieve 
Catholic Church-, but, with regard to the three Persons of the *££? 

Church. 

(U) Gal. iv. 26. Heb. xii. 22. Deut. xii. 11, 12, 13, 14,-18-21. 

(73) Ps. Ixxxvi. 5. (74) Ps. ii. 8. (75) Osee. ii. 1. (76J Mat. xvi. 19. 
(77) John, xx. 23. (78j Mat. xviii. 17. (79) Heb. xiii. 10. (80) Heb. xiii. 14. 



102 THE CATECHISM OF 

Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we 
not only believe them, but, also, believe in them ; and hence, 
when speaking of each dogma, we make use of a different form 
of expression, professing to believe the holy, not in the Holy 
Catholic Church ; (81) by this difference of expression, dis- 
tinguishing God, the author of all things, from his works, and 
acknowledging ourselves debtors to the divine goodness for all 
these exalted benefits bestowed on the Church. 

(81) Aug. serm. 131. de temp. 



THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.' 



This Arti- The Evangelist, S. John, writing to the faithful on the di- 
carefully vme mysteries, tells them, that he undertook to instruct them 
explained. on \fo e subject ; " that you," says he, " may have fellowship 
" with us, and our fellowship be with the Father and with his 
" Son Jesus Christ." (1) This "fellowship" consists in the 
Communion of Saints, the subject of the present Article. 
Would, that, in its exposition, pastors imitated the zeal of S. 
Paul and of the other Apostles ! (2) for not only does it serve 
as an interpretation of the preceding Article, and is a point of 
doctrine productive of abundant proof; but it also teaches the 
use to be made of the mysteries contained in the Creed ; be- 
cause the great end, to which all our researches and know- 
ledge are to be directed, is our admission into this most au- 
gust and blessed society of the saints, and our steady perse- 
verance therein, •" giving thanks, with joy, to God the Fa- 
" ther who has made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of 
" the saints in light." (3) 
In what The faithful? therefore, in the first place, are to be inform- 
"theCom-ed that this Article is, as it were, a sort of explanation of the 

munion of 

Saints" 

consists. ("I) 1 John, i. 3. (2) Aug. in Joan. Tract. 32. (3; Col. i. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 103 

preceding one, which regards the unity, sanctity and catholi- 
city of the Church : for the unity of the Spirit, by which she 
is governed, establishes among all her members a community 
of spiritual blessings, whereas the fruit of all the Sacraments 
is common to all the faithful, and these Sacraments, particular- 
ly baptism, the door, as it were, by which we are admitted 
into the Church, (4) are so many connecting links which bind 
and unite them to Jesus Christ. That this Communion of Saints 
implies a communion of Sacraments, the Fathers declare in 
these words of the Creed : u I confess one baptism." (5) Af- 
ter baptism, the Eucharist holds the first place in reference to 
this communion ; and after the Eucharist, the other Sacra- 
ments ; for, although common to all the Sacraments, because 
all unite us to God, and render us partakers of him whose 
grace they communicate to us, this communion belongs, in a 
peculiar manner, to the Eucharist, by which it is directly ac- 
complished. (6) 

But there is, also, another communion in the Church, which 
demands attention : every pious and holy action, done by one, 
belongs to and becomes profitable to all, through charity, 
" which seeks not her own." (7) In this we are fortified by 
the concurrent testimony of S. Ambrose, who, explaining these 
words of the Psalmist: "I am a partaker with all them that 
'' fear thee," observes : " As we say that a member is par- 
" taker of the entire body, so are we partakers with all that 
"fear God." (8) Therefore, has Christ taught us to say, 
" our" not "mj/" bread ;" (9) and the other petitions of that 
admirable prayer are equally general, not confined to ourselves 
alone, but directed, also, to the general interest and salvation 
of all. This communication of goods is, often, very apposite- a scriptu- 
ly illustrated in Scripture by a comparison borrowed from the[ allll, ?J^'' 
members of the human body ; in the human body there are commu- 
many members, but though many, they, yet, constitute but one m ° n ' 
body, in which each performs its own, not all, the same func- 
tions. All do not enjoy equal dignity, or discharge functions 
alike useful or honourable ; nor does one propose to itself its 

(41 Aug. 1. 19, contr. Faustum. c. 11. 

(5) Damasc. lib. 4. de fide orthodox, cap. 12. 1 Cor. 13. (e) 1 Cor. x. 16. 

(7) 1 Cor. xiii. 5. (8)S. Ambr. in Ps. cxviii. serm. 8, v. 63. (9) Mat. vi. 11. 



104 THE CATECHISM OF 

own exclusive advantage, but that of the entire body. (10) 
Besides, they are all so well organised and knit together, that 
if one suffers, the rest, naturally, sympathise with it, and if, on 
the contrary, one enjoys health, the feeling of pleasure is com- 
mon to all. The same may be observed of the Church ; al- 
though composed of various members ; of different nations, of 
Jews, Gentiles, freemen and slaves, of rich and poor ; yet all, 
initiated by faith, constitute one body with Christ, who is 
their head. To each member of the Church, is, also, assign- 
ed its own peculiar office ; and as some are appointed apostles, 
some teachers, but all for the common good ; so to some it be- 
longs to govern and teach, to others to be subject and to 
obey. 
This com- But, the advantages of so many and such exalted blessings, 
howfar bestowed by Almighty God, are preeminently enjoyed by those 
common to ^q i ea( j a Christian life in charity, and are just and beloved 
ed. of God ; whilst the dead members, that is, those who are bound 

in the thraldom of sin, and estranged from the grace of God, 
although not deprived of these advantages, so as to cease to be 
members of this body, are yet as dead members, deprived of 
the vivifying principle which is communicated to the just and 
pious Christian. However, as they are in the Church, they are 
assisted in recovering lost grace and life by those who are ani- 
mated by the Spirit of God, and are in the enjoyment of those 
fruits, which are, no doubt, denied to such as are, entirely, cut 
off from the communion of the Church. (11) 
" Graces But the gifts, which justify and endear us to God, are not 
"tousiy" alone common: " graces gratuitously granted," suchasknow- 

"g ranted " ledge, prophecy, the gifts of tongues and of miracles, and oth- 
common to ° ' r r ■" ° ° 

them withers of the same sort, (12) are common also, and are granted 
1 e g0 ° ' even to the wicked ; not, however, for their own, but for the ge- 
neral good ; for the building up of the Church of God. Thus, 
the gift of healing is given, not for the sake of him who heals, 
but for the sake of him who is healed. In fine, every true 
Christian possesses nothing which he should not consider com- 
mon to all others with himself, and should, therefore, be 
prepared promptly to relieve an indigent fellow-creature ; for 

(10) 1 Cor. xii. 14. (11) Aug. in Ps. 70. serm. 2. (12) 1 Cor. xiiu 2, 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 105 

he that is blessed with worldly goods, and sees his brother in 
want, and will not assist him, is at once convicted of not having 
the love of God within him. (13) Those, therefore, who be- 
long to this holy communion, it is manifest, enjoy a sort of hap- 
piness here below, and may truly say with the Psalmist : " How 
a lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts ! my soul longeth 
f and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. Blessed are they 
u who dwell in thy house, O Lord !" (14) 

(13) 1 John, iii. 17. (14) Ps. Ixxxiii. 2, 5, 



14 



106 THE CATECHISM OF 



ARTICLE X. 



" THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS." 



The belief The enumeration of this amongst the other Articles of the 
ticlenects- Creed, is alone sufficient to satisfy us, that it conveys a truth, 
sary to sal- which is not only in itself a divine mystery, but also a myste- 
ry very necessary to salvation. We have already said that, 
without a firm belief of all the Articles of the Creed, Christian 
piety is wholly unattainable. However, should a truth, which 
ought to bring intrinsic evidence to every mind, seem to require 
any other authority in its support ; enough that the Redeemer, 
a short time previous to his ascension into heaven, " when 
" opening the understanding of his disciples, that they might 
" understand the Scriptures," bore testimony to this article of 
the Creed, in these words : " It behoved Christ to suffer, and 
" to rise again from the dead the third day, and that penance 
" and remission of sins, should be preached, in his name, unto 
Obligation " a ^ nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (1) Let the pastor but 
of the pas- weigh well these words, and he will readily perceive, that the 
plain it to Lord has laid him under a most sacred obligation, not only of 
t epeop e. ma kj n g k n0W n to the faithful, whatever regards religion in ge- 
neral, but also of explaining with particular care, this article of 
the Creed. On this point of doctrine, then, it is the bounden 
duty of the pastor to teach that, not only is " forgiveness of 
" sins" to be found in the Catholic Church, as Isaias had fore- 
told in these words : " The people that dwell therein shall have 
" their iniquity taken away from them ;" (2) but, also, that in 
her resides the power of forgiving sins ; (3) which power, if 
exercised duly, and according to the laws prescribed by our 

(1) Luke, xxiv. 46, 47. (2) Isaias, xxxiii. 24. (3) Aug. hotnil. 49. cap. 3. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 107 

Lord, is, we are bound to believe, such as, truly to pardon and 
remit sins. 

But, when we first make a profession of faith at the baptism- re mitsaii 
al font, and are cleansed in its purifying waters, we receive sins and 
this pardon entire and unqualified ; so that no sin, original or ments duo 
actual, of commission or omission, remains to be expiated, ° iem * 
no punishment to be endured. The grace of baptism, howev- 
er, does not give exemption from all the infirmities of nature : 
on the contrary, contending, as we each of us have to contend, 
against the motions of concupiscence, which ever tempts us to 
the commission of sin, there is scarcely one to be found amongst 
us, who opposes so vigorous a resistance to its assaults, or who 
guards his salvation so vigilantly, as to escape all the snares of 
Satan. (4) 

It being necessary, therefore, that a power of forgiving sins, f fheWs 
distinct from that of baptism, should exist in the Church, to g, iv ^ to , 

, . , \ ■_ , „ , , theChurch 

her were entrusted the keys ot the kingdom of heaven, by 
which each one, if penitent, may obtain the remission of his 
sins, even though he were a sinner to the last day of his life. 
This truth is vouched by the most unquestionable authority of 
the Sacred Scriptures : in St. Matthew, the Lord says to Pe- 
ter : "I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; 
" and whatever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound also in 
"heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be 
" loosed also in heaven;" (5) and again, " whatever you shall 
" bind on earth, shall be bound also in heaven ; and whatever 
"you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven." 
(6) Again, the testimony of St. John assures us that the Lord, 
breathing on the Apostle, said u Receive ye the Holy Ghost, 
" whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them ; and 
" whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." (7) Nor isThispower 
the exercise of this power restricted to particular sins, for no auxins! t0 
crime, however heinous, can be committed, which the Church 
has not power to forgive : as, also, there is no sinner, howev- 
er abandoned, none however depraved, who should not confi- 
dently hope for pardon, provided he sincerely repent of his 
past transgressions. (8) Neither is the exercise of this power 

( 1 1 Trident, sess. v. can. 5. Aug. 1, 2, de peccat. merit, c. 28. 

(5) Matth. xvi. 19. (6) Matth. xviii. 18. (7} John, xx. 23. 

(8) Ambros. lib. 1. de poenit. c. I. & 2. Aug. in Ench. c. 93. 



108 THE CATECHISM OF 

restricted to particular times ; for whenever the sinner turns 
from his evil ways, he is not to be rejected, as we learn from 
the reply of our Lord to the prince of the Apostles, asking 
how often we should pardon an offending brother, whether 
seven times : " Not only seven times," says the Redeemer, 
" but even seventy times seven." (9) 
But is con- But if we look to its ministers, or to the manner in which it 
shops and 1S to be exercised, the extent of his power will not appear so 
priests. great ; for it is a power not given to all, but to bishops and 
priests only ; and sins can be forgiven only through the sacra- 
ments, when duly administered. — The Church has received no 
power otherwise to remit sin. (10) 
Its inesti- Bat to raise the admiration of the faithful, for this heavenly 
mable val- gjf^ b es t owe d on the Church by the singular mercy of God 
towards us, and to make them approach its use with the more 
lively sentiments of devotion ; the pastor will endeavour to 
point out the dignity and the extent of the grace which it im- 
parts. If there be any one means better calculated than ano- 
ther to accomplish this end, it is, carefully to show how great 
must be the efficacy of that which absolves from sin, and re- 
stores the unjust to a state of justification. This is, manifest- 
ly, an effect of the infinite power of God, of that same power 
which we believe to have been necessary to raise the dead to 
life, and to summon creation into existence. (11) But if it be 
true, as the authority of St. Augustine assures us itis,(12) that, 
to recall a sinner from the state of sin to that of righteousness, 
is even a greater work than to create the heavens and the earth 
from nothing, though their creation can be no other than the 
effect of infinite power ; it follows that we have still stronger 
reason to consider the remission of sins, as an effect proceed- 
ing from the exercise of this same infinite power. With great 
truth,therefore,have the ancient Fathers declared,thatGod alone 
can forgive sins, and that to his infinite goodness and power 
alone is so wonderful a work to be referred : " I am he," says 
the Lord himself, by the mouth of his prophet, " I am he, who 

(9) Matth. xviii. 21, 22. 

(10) Trid. sess. 14. c. 6. Hier. epist. 1. post med. Ambr. de Cain et Abel, c. 4. 

(11) Trid. sess. 6. c. 7. &sess. 14, 1, 2, & c. tract. 7, 2, in Joan. 

(12) Aug. lib. 1. de pecc. merit, c. 23. 1. 50. hom. 2:5. Ambr. dc Abel, cap. 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 109 

"• blotteth out your iniquities." (1 3) The remission of sins seems 
to bear an exact analogy to the cancelling of a pecuniary debt : 
as, therefore, none but the creditor can forgive a pecuniary 
debt, so the debt of sin, which we owe to God alone, (and our 
daily prayer is : " forgive us our debts,") (14) can, it is clear, 
be forgiven by him alone, and by none else. 

But this wonderful gift, this emanation of the divine bounty, First giv- 
was never communicated to creatures, until God became man. Christ, as 
Christ our Lord, although true God, was the first who, as man, man - 
received this high prerogative from his heavenly Father: 
" That you may know," says he to the paralytic, " that the 
" Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, rise, take 
" up thy bed, and go into thy house." (15) As, therefore, he 
became man, in order to bestow on man this forgiveness of 
sins, he communicated this power to bishops and priests in the 
Church, previously to his ascension into heaven, there to sit 
for ever at the right hand of God. Christ, however, as we 
have already said, remits sin by virtue of his own authority, 
all others by virtue of his authority delegated to them as his 
ministers. 

If, therefore, whatever is the effect of infinite power claims Thegreat- 
our highest admiration, and commands our profoundest rever- gj fts ° 
ence ; we must readily perceive that this gift, bestowed on the 
Church by the bounteous hand of Christ our Lord, is one of 
inestimable value. The manner, too, in which God, in the 
fullness of his paternal clemency, resolved to cancel the sins of 
the world, must powerfully excite the faithful to the contempla- 
tion of this great blessing : it was his will that our offences 
should be expiated in the blood of his only begotten Son, that 
lie should voluntarily assume the imputability of our sins, and 
suffer a most cruel death ; the just for the unjust, the innocent 
for the guilty. (16) When, therefore, we reflect, that " we 
" were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver, 
" but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspot- 
ted and undefiled ;" (17) we are naturally led to conclude 
that we could have received no gift more salutary than this 

(13) Isaias, xliii. 25. (M) Matth. vi. 11. (15) Mattli. ix. 6. Mark, ii. 9, 10. 
(16) IPet. iii. IS. (17) lPct. i. 18, 19. 



1 10 THE CATECHISM OF 

power of forgiving sins, which proclaims the ineffable provi- 
dence of God, and the excess of his love towards us. 
sinhow ^^ s re fl ect i on must produce, in all, the most abundant spir- 
great an itual fruit ; for whoever offends God, even by one mortal sin, 
instantly forfeits whatever merits he may have previously ac- 
quired through the sufferings and death of Christ, and is en- 
tirely shut out from the gate of heaven, which, when already 
closed, was thrown open to all by the Redeemer's passion. 
And, indeed, when this reflection enters into the mind, it is im- 
possible not to feel impressed with the most anxious solicitude, 
in contemplating the picture of human misery which it pre- 
sents to our view. But if we turn our attention to this admir- 
able power with which God has invested his Church ; and, 
in the firm belief of this Article, feel convinced that to every 
sinner is offered the means of recovering, with the assistance of 
divine grace, his former dignity ; we can no longer resist sen- 
timents of exceeding joy, and gladness, and exultation, and 
must offer immortal thanks to God. If, when labouring under 
some severe malady, the medicines prepared for us by the art 
and industry of the physician, generally become grateful and 
agreeable to us ; how much more grateful and agreeable should 
those remedies prove, which the wisdom of God has establish- 
ed to heal our spiritual maladies, and restore us to the life of 
grace ; remedies which, unlike the medicines used for the re- 
covery of bodily health, bring with them, not, indeed, uncertain 
hope of recovery, but certain health to such as desire to be 
cured. 
ful^hould Tne faitnful ) therefore, having formed a just conception of 
have re- the dignity of so excellent and exalted a blessing, should be ex- 
the^exer- horted to study how to turn it religiously to good account ; 

cise of tins f or ^ w j 10 ma kes no use ot what is really useful and necessa- 

power. J 

ry, affords a strong presumption that he despises it ; particular- 
ly as, in communicating to the Church the power of forgiving 
sins, the Lord did so with the view, that all should have re- 
course to this healing remedy ; for as, without baptism, no man 
can be cleansed from original sin, so, without the sacrament of 
penance, which is another means instituted by God to cleanse 
from sin, he who desires to recover the grace of baptism, for- 
feited by actual mortal guilt, cannot recover lost innocence. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 1 1 1 

But here the faithful are to be admonished to guard against Danger of 
the danger of becoming more propense to sin, or slow to repen- be\void- 
tance, from a presumption that they can have recourse to this ed> 
plenary power of forgiving sins, which, as we have already 
said, is unrestricted by time ; for as such a propensity to sin, 
must, manifestly, convict them of acting injuriously and contu- 
maciously to this divine power, and must, therefore, render 
them unworthy of the divine mercy ; so, this slowness to re- 
pentance must afford great reason to apprehend, lest overtaken 
by death, they may, in vain, confess their belief in the remis- 
sion of sins, which their tardiness and procrastination have, de- 
servedly, forfeited. (18) 

(IS) Aug. in Joan. Tract. 33. & lib. 50. homil. 41. Ambross. lib. 2. de prenit. 
c. 1. 2.&11. 



THE CATECHISM OF 



ARTICLE XL 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 



Import- That this Article supplies a convincing proof of the truth 

Article. °f our ^ a '^ 1S evinced by the circumstance of its not only be- 
ing proposed in the Sacred Scriptures, to the belief of the 
faithful, but also fortified by numerous arguments. This we 
scarcely find to be the case with regard to the other Articles : 
a circumstance which justifies the inference that on it, as on 
its most solid basis, rests our hope of salvation ; for according 
to the reasoning of the Apostle, " If there be no resurrection 
" of the dead, then Christ is not risen again ; and if Christ be 
" not risen again, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is 
"also vain." (1) The zeal and assiduity, therefore, of the 
pastor in its exposition should not be inferior to the labour 
which impiety has expended in fruitless efforts to overturn its 
truth. That eminently important advantages flow to the 
faithful from the knowledge of this Article will appear from 
the sequel. 
The resur- And, first, that in this Article the resurrection of mankind 
maaMnd * s ca ^ ed " tne resurrection of the body," is a circumstance 
why call- which deserves attention. The Apostles had for object, (for 

ed "the re- . . . . , . s , r . J ' v 

surrection it is not without its object,) thus to convey an important truth, 
H y .» hebo " the immortality of the soul. Lest, therefore, contrary to the 
Sacred Scriptures, which, in many places, teach the soul to be 
immortal, (2) any one may imagine that it dies with the body, 
and that both are to be resuscitated, the Creed speaks only of 
" the resurrection of the body." The word, "caro," which 
is used in the symbol, translated literally, means " flesh :" a 

(1) 1 Cor. -tv. 13, 14. (2) Wis. ii. 23, & iii. 4. Mntth. x. 28, & xxii 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 113 

word, which, though of frequent occurrence in Scripture to sig- 
nify the whole man, soul and body, as in Isaias, " All flesh is 
grass ;" (3) and in S. John, " The Word was made flesh;" (4) 
is, however used, here, to express the body only ; thus giving us 
to understand, that, of the two constituent parts of man, one 
only, that is the body, is corrupted, and returns to its original 
dust ; whilst the soul remains incorrupt and immortal. As then, 
without dying, a man cannot be said to return to life ; so the 
soul, which never dies, could not, with propriety, be said to 
rise again. The word body, is, also, mentioned, in order to 
confute the heresy of Hymeneus and Philetus, who during the 
life-time of the Apostle, asserted, that whenever the Scriptures 
speak of the resurrection, they are to be understood to mean 
not the resurrection of the body, but that of the soul, by which 
it rises from the death of sin to the life of grace. (5) The 
words of this Article, therefore, clearly confute the error, and 
establish a real resurrection of the body. 

But it will be the duty of the pastor to illustrate this truth Proofs of 
by examples taken from the Old and New Testaments, and jectioiTTf 
from all ecclesiastical history. In the Old Testament, some the body. 
were restored to life by Elias, (6) and Elizeus ; (7) and in 
the New, besides those who were raised to life by our 
Lord, (8) many were resuscitated by the Apostles, and by 
others. (9) Their resurrection confirms the doctrine con- 
veyed by this Article, for believing that many were recalled 
from death to life, we are also naturally led to believe the gen- 
eral resurrection of all ; and the principal fruit which we 
should derive from these miracles is to yield to this Article 
our most unhesitating belief. To pastors, ordinarily convers- 
ant with the Sacred Volumes, many Scripture proofs will, at 
once, present themselves ; but, in the Old Testament, the 
most conspicuous are those afforded by Job when he says, 
"that in his flesh he shall see God;" (10) and by Daniel 
when, " speaking of those who sleep in the dust of the earth," 
he says, "some shall awake to eternal life, others to eternal 

(%) Isaias, xl. 6. (4) John, i. 14. (5) 2 Tim. ii. 17. 

(6) 3 Kings, xvii. 21, 22. (7) 4 Kings, iv. 34, & xiii. 21. 

(8) Matth. ix. 25. Luke,vii. 14, 15. John, xi. 43, 44. 

(9) Acts, ix. 40, & xx. 10. (10) Job, xix. 26. 

15 



1 14 THE CATECHISM OF 

"reproach." (II) In the New Testament the principal pas- 
sages are those of S. Matthew, which record the disputation 
which our Lord held with the Sadducees ; (12) and those of 
the Evangelists which relate to the last judgment. (13) To 
these we may also add, the accurate reasoning of the Apostle, 
on the subject, in his epistles to the Corinthians, (14) and Thes- 
salonians. (15) 
Illustrated But, incontrovertibly as is this truth established by faith, it 
iisons. w\\\, notwithstanding, be of material advantage to show from 
analogy and reason, that what faith proposes to our belief, na- 
ture acknowledges to accord with her laws, and reason with 
her dictate. To one, asking how the dead should rise again, the 
Apostle answers : " Foolish man ! that which thou sowest is 
" not quickened, except it die first; and that which thou sow- 
" est, thou sowest not the body that shall be ; but bare grain 
" as of wheat, or of some of the rest ; but God giveth it a bo- 
" dy as he will :" and a little after, " It is sown in corruption, 
" it shall rise in incorruption." (16) S. Gregory, calls our at- 
tention to many other arguments of analogy tending to the 
same effect : " The sun," says he, " is every day withdrawn 
" from our eyes, as it were, by dying, and is again recalled, as 
it were, by rising again : trees lose, and again, as it were, by 
" a resurrection, resume their verdure : seeds die by putrefac- 
tion, and rise again by germination.'' (17) 
Proved by The reasons, also, adduced by ecclesiastical writers, are 
from rea- well calculated to establish this truth. In the first place, as 
son ' the soul is immortal, and has, as part of man, a natural propen- 

sity to be united to the body, its perpetual separation from it 
must be considered contrary to nature. But as that which is 
contrary to nature, and offers violence to her laws, cannot be 
permanent, it appears congruous that the soul should be reunit- 
ed to the body ; and, of course, that the body should rise again. 
This argument, our Saviour himself employed, when, in his 
disputation with the Sadducees, he deduced the resurrection 
of the body from the immortality of the soul. (18) 

(11) Dan. xii. 2. (12) Matth. xxii. 31. (13) John, v. 25. xxviii. 29. 
(14)1 Cor. 15. (15) lThes.w. 13. (16) 1 Cor. xv. 36, 37, 38-42. 

(11) S. Gregor. lib. 14. moral, c. 28, 29, 30. (18) Matth. xxii. 23. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

In the next place, as an all-just God holds out punishments 
to the wicked, and rewards to the good, and as very many of 
the former depart this life unpunished for their crimes, and of 
the latter unrewarded for their virtues ; the soul should be re- 
united to the body, in order, as the partner of her crimes, or 
the companion of her virtues, to become a sharer in her pun- 
ishments or her rewards. (19) This view of the subject has 
been admirably treated by S. Chrysostom in his homily to the 
people of Antioch (20.) To this effect, the Apostle speaking 
of the resurrection, says, " If in this life only, we have hope 
" in Christ, we are of all men the most miserable." (21 ) These 
words of S. Paul cannot be supposed to refer to the misery of 
the soul, which, because immortal, is capable of enjoying hap- 
piness in a future life, were the body not to rise ; but to the 
whole man ; for, unless the body receive the due rewards of 
its labours, those, who, like the Apostles, endured so many 
afflictions and calamities in this life, should necessarily be 
" the most miserable of men." On this subject the Apostle is 
much more explicit in his epistle to the Thessalonians : " We 
" glory in you," says he, "in the churches of God, that you 
" may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which, al- 
" so you suffer : seeing it is a just thing with God to repay tri- 
" bulation to them that trouble you ; and to you who are trou- 
" bled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
" from heaven with the angels of his power ; in a flame of 
" fire, yielding vengeance to them who know not God, and 
" who obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (22) 

Again, whilst the soul is separated from the body, man can- 
not enjoy the consummation of happiness, replete with every 
good ; for as a part, separated from the whole, is imperfect, 
the soul separated from the body must be imperfect ; and, 
therefore, that nothing may be wanting to fill up the measure 
of its happiness, the resurrection of the body is necessary. By 
these, and similar arguments, the pastor will be able to instruct 
the faithful in this Article. 

09) Damasc. lib. 4. de fide orthod. cap. 23. Ambros. lib. de fide resurr. 
(20) S. Chrysostom. homil. 49 and 50. (21) 1 Cor. xv. 19. 

(22) 2 Thess. i. 4. 



116 THE CATECHISM OF 

Theresur- He should also, carefully explain, from the Apostle, who 
all not the are to be raised to life. Writing to the Corinthians, S. Paul 



same. 



says, "as in Adam all die, so, also, in Christ all should be made 
" alive." (23) Good and bad, then, without distinction, shall 
all rise from the dead, although the condition of all shall not be 
the same — those who have done good shall rise to the resurrec- 
tion of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection 
of judgment. 

All shall When we say "all," we mean those who shall have died be- 
die to rise ^ 

again. fore the day of judgment, as well as those who shall then die. 
That the Church acquiesces in the opinion which asserts that 
all, without distinction shall die, and that this opinion is more 
consonant to truth, is recorded by the pen of S. Jerome, (24) 
whose authority is fortified by that of S. Augustine. (25) Nor 
does the Apostle, in his epistle to the Thessalonians, dissent 
from this doctrine, when he says : " The dead who are in 
" Christ shall rise first, then we who are alive, who are left, 
" shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet 
" Christ, into the air." (26) S. Ambrose explaining these 
words says, " In that very taking up, death shall anticipate, 
" as it were by a deep sleep, and the soul, having gone forth 
" from the body, shall instantly return ; for those who are alive, 
" when taken up, shall die, that, coming to the Lord, they may 
" receive their souls from his presence ; because in his presence 
" they cannot be dead." (27) This opinion is fortified by the 
authority of S. Augustine in his book on the City -of God. (28) 

All shall jj u f as ft i s f v ^ a ] importance to be fully convinced that the 

rise in their ' J 

own bodies identical body, which belongs to each one of us during life, 
shall, though corrupt, and dissolved into its original dust, be 
raised up again to life ; this, too, is a subject which demands 
accurate explanation from the pastor. It is a truth conveyed 
by the Apostle in these words : " This corruptible must put 
" on incorruption ;" (29) emphatically designating by the word 
" this," the identity of our bodies. It is also, evident from the 
prophecy of Job, than which nothing can be more express : " I 
" shall see my God," says he, " whom I myself shall see, and 

(23) 1 Cor. xv. 22. (24) S. Hieron. epist. 152. 

(25) August, de Civit. Dei- lib. xx. c. 20. (26) 1 Thess. iv. 15, 16. 
(27) In 1. epist. ad Thess. c. 4. (28) Lib. xx. c. 20. (29) 1 Cor. xv. 53. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 117 

" mine eyes behold, and not another." (30) Finally, if we on- 
ly consider the very definition of resurrection, we cannot, rea- 
sonably, entertain a shadow of doubt on the subject ; for resur- 
rection, as" Damascene defines it, is " a return to the state from 
" which one has fallen." (31) Finally, if we consider the ar- 
guments by which we have already established a future resur- 
rection, every doubt on the subject must at once disappear. 
We have said that the body is to rise again, that " every one 
" may receive the proper things of the body, according as he 
P hath done, whether it be good or evil."(32) Man is, therefore, 
to rise again, in the same body with which he served God, or 
was a slave to the devil ; that in the same body he may experi- 
ence rewards, and a crown of victory, or endure the severest 
punishments, and never ending torments. 

Not only will the body rise, but it will rise endowed with ^"tethfe 

whatever constitutes the reality of its nature, and adorns and bodies shall 

rise, 
ornaments man ; according to these admirable words of S. Au- 
gustine : " There shall, then, be no deformity of body ; if some 
" have been overburdened with flesh, they shall not resume its 
" entire weight : whatever shall exceed the proper habit shall 
" be deemed superfluous. On the other hand, should the body 
" be wasted by the malignity of disease, or the debility of 
" old age, or be emaciated from any other cause, it shall be 
" recruited by the divine power of Jesus Christ, who will not 
11 only restore the body, but repair whatever it shall have lost 
" through the wretchedness of this life." (33) In another place 
he says; '< Man shall not resume his former hair, but shall be 
" adorned with such as will become him, according to these 
" words of the Redeemer, ' The very hairs of your head are all 
" ' numbered :' (34) God will restore them according to his 
"wisdom." (35) 

The members, because essential to the integrity of human None shall 
nature, shall all be restored : the blind from nature or disease, e ^ 
the fame, the maimed, and the paralysed shall rise again with 
perfect bodies : otherwise the desires of the soul, which so 

(30 Job, xix. 26, 27. (31) Damasc. lib. iv. de fid. orthod. 28. 

(32) 2 Cor. v. 10. (33) S. Aug. 1. xxii. de Civit. Dei, c. 19, 20, 21. 

& Ench. c. 86, 87, 38, 89. Hieron. epist. 59 & 61. 

(34) Luke, xii. 7. (35) S. Aug. Ench. c. lxxxvi. 



rise maim- 



118 THE CATECHISM OF 

strongly incline it to a union with the body, would be far from 
satisfied; and yet we are convinced, that, in the resurrection, 
these desires shall be fully realized. Besides, the resurrection, 
like the creation, is clearly to be numbered amongst the prin- 
cipal works of God. As, therefore, at the creation, all things 
came perfect, from the hand of God ; so, at the resurrection 
shall all things be perfectly restored by the same omnipotent 
hand. 
The scars These observations are not to be restricted to the bodies of 
tvrs 16 shaH *' ie mart yrs *> of whom S. Augustine says : " As the mutilation 
remain to « which they suffered would prove a deformity, they shall rise 
the mem- " with all their members ; otherwise those who were behead- 
wicked tl,e " ed would r i se without a head. The scars, however, which 
shall be re- " they received, shall remain, shining like the wounds of 
increase " Christ, with a brilliancy far more resplendant than that of 

[shment Un ~ " S old and of P recious stones " ( 36 ) The wicked, too, shall 
rise with all their members, although they should have been 
lost through their own fault; for the greater the number of 
members which they shall have, the greater shall be their tor- 
ments ; and, therefore, this restoration of members, will serve 
to increase, not their happiness, but their misery. Merit or 
demerit is ascribed not to the members, but to the person to 
whose body they are united: to those, therefore, who shall 
have done penance, they shall be restored as sources of 
reward ; and to those who shall have contemned it, as instru- 
ments of punishment. If the pastor bestow mature considera- 
tion on these things, he can never want words or ideas to move 
the hearts of the faithful, and enkindle in them the flame of pi- 
ety ; that, considering the troubles of this life, they may look 
forward, with eager expectation, to that blessed glory of the 
resurrection which awaits the just. 
The bodies It now remains to explain to the faithful, in an intelligible 
andof "the manner > how the body, when raised from the dead, although 
bad shall substantially the same, shall be different in many respects, 
mortal. To omit other points, the great difference between the state 
of all bodies when risen from the dead, and what they had 
previously been, is, that, before the resurrection, they were 

(36) Lib. xxii. de Civ. Dei, c. 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 1 1 9 

subject to dissolution ; but, when reanimated, they shall all, 
without distinction of good and bad, be invested with im- 
mortality. This admirable restoration of nature is the result Th ^j' ^ 
of the glorious victory of Christ over death ; as it is written, the victory 
"He shall cast death down headlong for ever:'' (37) and, "O over death 
" Death ! I will be thy death ;" (38) words which the Apostle 
thus explains, " and the enemy death shall be destroyed last ;" 
(39) and S. John, also, says, " Death shall be no more." (40) 
There is a peculiar congruity in the superiority of the merits 
of Christ, by which the power of death is overthrown, (41) to 
the fatal effects of the sin of Adam; and, it is consonant to the 
divine justice, that the good enjoy endless felicity ; whilst the 
wicked, condemned to everlasting torments, " shall seek death, 
" and shall not find it ; shall desire to die, and death shall fly 
"from them." (42) Immortality, therefore, will be common 
to the good and to the bad. 

Moreover, the bodies of the saints, when resuscitated, shall The <l uali - 
... . . ties of a 

be distinguished by certain transcendant endowments, which glorified 

will ennoble them far beyond their former condition. Amongst ° y 
these endowments, four are specially mentioned by the Fa- 
thers, which they infer from the doctrine of S. Paul, and 
which are called " qualities." (43) 

The first is " impassibility" which shall place them beyond Impassibi- 
the reach of pain or inconvenience of any sort. Neither the 
piercing severity of cold, nor the glowing intensity of heat can 
affect them, nor can the impetuosity of waters hurt them. " It 
" is sown," says the Apostle, " in corruption, it shall rise in 
" incorruption." (44) This quality, the school-men call im- 
passibility, not incorruption ; in order to distinguish it as a 
property peculiar to a glorified body. The bodies of the 
damned, though incorruptible, shall not be impassible : they 
shall be capable of experiencing heat and cold and of feeling 
pain. 

The next quality is "brightness," by which the bodies of Brightness 
the saints shall shine like the sun ; according to the words of 

(37) Isa. xxv. 8. (38) Osee, xiii. 14. (39) 1 Cor. xv. 26. 

(40) Apoc. ii. 4. (41) Heb. ii. 14. (42) Apoc. ix. 6. 

(43) De his Aug. Serm. 99. de temp. Ambr. in com. in 1. ad Cor. c. 15. 

(44) 1 Cor. xv. 42. 



I 



120 THE CATECHISM OF 

our Lord recorded in the Gospel of S. Matthew : " The just 
" shall shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father." (45) 
To remove the possibility of doubt on this subject, he left us 
a splendid exemplification of this glorious quality in his trans- 
figuration. (46) This quality the Apostle sometimes calls glo- 
ry, sometimes brightness ; " He will reform the body of our 
" lowness, made like to the body of his glory :" (47) and 
again, " It is sown in dishonour, it shall rise in glory." (48) Of 
this glory the Israelites beheld some image in the desert ; when 
the face of Moses, after he had been in the presence of, and 
had conversed with God, shone with such resplendant lustre 
that they could not look on it. (49.) This brightness is a sort 
of refulgence reflected from the supreme happiness of the soul 
— an emanation of the bliss which it enjoys, and which beams 
through the body. Its communication is analogous to the man- 
ner in which the soul itself is rendered happy, by a participa- 
tion of the happiness of God. Unlike the former, this quality 
is not common to all in the same degree. All the bodies of 
the saints shall, it is true, be equally impassible: but the bright- 
ness of all shall not be the same : for, according to the Apos- 
tle, " One is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the 
" moon, and another the glory of the stars : for star differed! 
" from star in glory : so, also, is the resurrection of the dead.'' 
(50) 

Agility. To this quality is united that of " agility," as it is called, 

by which the body shall be freed from the burden that now 
presses it down ; and shall acquire a capability of moving with 
the utmost facility and celerity, wherever the soul pleases, as 
S. Augustine teaches in bis book on the City of God (51) and 
S. Jerome on Isaias. (52) Hence these words of the Apostle : 
" It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power." (53) 

Subtility. Another quality is that of " subtility," a quality which sub- 
jects the body to the absolute dominion of the soul, and to an 
entire obedience to her controul : as we infer from these words 
of the Apostle: " It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spir- 

(45) Math. xiii. 43. (46) Math. xvii. 2. (47) Philip, iii. 21. 

(4S) 1 Cor. xv. 43. (49) Exod. xxxiv. 29, & 2 Cor. iii. 7. 

(50) 1 Cor. xv. 41, 42. (51) Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. xiii. c. 18 & 20. and 

lib. xxii. c. 1 1. (52) Hieron. in Isaiam, cap. 40. (53) 1 Cor. xv. 43. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 121 

" itual body." (54) These are the principal points on which 
the pastor will dwell in the exposition of this Article. 

But in order that the faithful may know what fruit they are Advanta- 
to reap from a knowledge of so many and such exalted myste- meditation 
ries; the pastor will proclaim, in the first place, that to God, °^* lsAr " 
who has hidden these things from the wise, and made them L 
known to little ones, we owe a debt of boundless gratitude ! How 
many men, eminent for wisdom and learning, who never arriv- 
ed at a knowledge of this truth ? Aware, then, of his special 
predilection towards us in making known to us this sublime 
truth — to us who could never aspire to such knowledge — it be- 
comes our duty to pour forth our gratitude in unceasing praises 
of his goodness and clemency. 

Another important advantage to be derived from deep re- H. 
flection on this Article is, that in it we shall experience a balm, 
to heal the wounded spirit, when we mourn the loss of those 
who were endeared to us by friendship or connected with us 
by blood ; a balm which the Apostle himself administered to 
the Thessalonians when writing to them " concerning those 
I who slept." (55) 

But in all our afflictions and calamities the thought of a fu- 
ture resurrection must bring relief to the troubled heart; as we 
learn from the example of Job, who supported himself under 
an accumulation of afflictions and of sorrows, solely by the 
hope of, one day, rising from the grave, and beholding the Lord 
his God. (56) 

It must also, prove a powerful incentive to the faithful to use Iy 
every exertion to lead lives of rectitude and integrity, unsullied 
by the defilement of sin ; for, if they reflect, that those riches 
of inconceivable value, which God will bestow on his faithful 
servants after the resurrection, are now proposed to them as 
rewards : they must find in the reflection the strongest induce- 
ment to lead virtuous and holy lives. On the other hand, no- 
thing will have greater effect in subduing the passions, and 
withdrawing souls from sin, than frequently to remind the sin- 
ner of the miseries and torments with which the justice of God 
will visit the reprobate, who, on the last day, shall rise to the 
resurrection of judgment. (57) 

(54) 1 Cor. xv. 44. (55) 1 These, iv. 13. (56) Job, xix. 26. (51) John, v. 29- 

16 






122 THE CATECHISM OF 



ARTICLE XII. 



LIFE EVERLASTING." 



Why the The wisdom of the Apostles, our guides in religion, sug- 
ckof the g este d to them the propriety of giving this Article the last 
creed. place in the Creed, which is the summary of our faith ; first, 
because, after the resurrection of the body, the only object of 
the Christian's hope, is the reward of everlasting life ; and se- 
condly, in order that perfect happiness, embracing, as it does, 
the fulness of all good, may be ever present to our minds, and 
absorb all our thoughts and affections. In his instructions to 
the faithful, the pastor, therefore, will unceasingly endeavour 
to light up in their souls, an ardent desire of the proposed re- 
wards of eternal life ; that thus they may look upon whate- 
ver difficulties they may experience in the practice of reli- 
gion, as light and even agreeable, and may yield a more 
willing and an entire obedience to God. 
Its mean- But as many mysteries lie concealed under the words which 
are here used, to declare the happiness reserved for us ; they 
are to be explained in such a manner as to make them intelli- 
gible to all, as far as their respective capacities will allow. 
The faithful, therefore, are to be informed, that the words, 
" life everlasting," signify not only that continuity of exist- 
ence, to which the devils and the wicked are consigned, but 
also, that perpetuity of happiness which is to satisfy the de- 
sires of the blessed. In this sense they were understood by 
the " ruler," mentioned in the Gospel, when he asked the Re- 
deemer : " Lord ! what shall I do to possess everlasting life ?" 
(1) As if he had said, what shall I do, in order to arrive at 
the enjoyment of everlasting happiness ? In this sense they 

(1) Luke, xviii. 18. 



ing 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 123 

are understood in the Sacred Volumes, as is clear from a re- 
ference to many passages of Scripture. (2) The supreme hap- 
piness of the blessed is thus designated, principally to exclude 
the notion that it consists in corporeal and transitory things, 
which cannot be everlasting. (3) 

The word " blessedness" is insufficient to express the idea, Why call- 
particularly as there have not been wanting men, who, inflat- blasting. 
ed with the vain opinions of a false philosophy, would place 
the supreme good in sensible things ; but these grow old and 
perish, whilst supreme happiness is defined by no limits of 
time. Nay, more, so far is the enjoyment of the goods of this 
life from conferring real happiness, that, on the contrary, he 
who is captivated by a love of the world, is farthest removed 
from true happiness : for it is written : " Love not the world, 
" nor the things that are in the world ; if any one love the 
" world, the love of the Father is not in him :" (4) and a little 
after, " The world passeth away and the concupiscence there- 
" of." (5) The pastor, therefore, will be careful to impress 
these truths on the minds of the faithful, that they may learn 
to despise earthly things, and to know that, in this world, in 
which we are not citizens, but sojourners, (6) happiness is not 
to be found. Yet, even here below, we may be said, with 
truth, to be happy in hope ; " if denying ungodliness and 
"worldly desires, we live soberly, and justly, and godly in this 
" world ; looking for the blessed hope and coming of the great 
" God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." (7) Many " who seem 
" to themselves wise," (8) not understanding these things, and 
imagining that happiness was to be sought in this life, became 
fools and the victims of the most deplorable calamities. 

These words, " Life everlasting," also teach us that, con- True hap- 
trary to the false notions of some, happiness once attained can P iness 
never be lost. Happiness is an accumulation of good without everlasting 
admixture of evil, which, as it fills up the measure of man's 
desires, must be eternal. He who is blessed with its enjoy- 
ment must earnestly desire its continuance, and, were it tran- 

(2) Matt. xix. 29, & xxv. 46. Rom. vi. 22. (3) Aug. de Civ. Dei, 1. 19. c. 11. 
(4) 1 John, ii. 15. (5) 1 John, ii. 17. ^6) 1 Pet. ii. II. 

(7) Tit. ii. 11, 13. (8) Rom. i. 22. 



124 THE CATECHISM OF 

sient and uncertain, would necessarily experience the torture 
of continual apprehension. (9) 
^iness^of ^e i ntens ity °f tne happiness which the just enjoy in their 
thejust in- celestial country, and its utter incomprehensibility to all but 
incompre- to themselves alone, are sufficiently conveyed by the very words 
hensible : w hich are here used to express that happiness. When, to ex- 
press any idea, we make use of a word common to many oth- 
ers, we do so, because we have no proper term by which to 
express it clearly and fully. When, therefore, to express hap- 
piness, we adopt words which are equally applicable to all 
who are to live for ever, as to the blessed ; we are led to infer 
that the idea presents to the mind something too great, too ex- 
alted, to be expressed fully by a proper term. 'True, the hap- 
piness of heaven is expressed in Scripture by a variety of oth- 
er words, such as, the "Kingdom of God," (10) "of Christ,' 1 
(11) "of heaven," (12) "Paradise," (13) "the Holy City," 
" the New Jerusalem," (14) "my Father's house;" (15) yet it 
is clear that none of these appellations is sufficient to convey 
an adequate idea of its greatness. 
a power- The pastor, therefore, will not neglect the opportunity which 
tive to vir- tms article affords, of inviting the faithful to the practice of pi- 
tue - ety, of justice, and of all the other virtues, by holding out to 

them such ample rewards as are announced in the words " life 
" everlasting." Amongst the blessings which we instinctively 
desire, life is, confessedly, esteemed one of the greatest; by it 
principally, when we say " life everlasting," do we express the 
happiness of the just. If, then, during this short and chequer- 
ed period of our existence, which is subject to so many and such 
various vicissitudes, that it may be called death rather than life, 
there is nothing to which we so fondly cling, nothing which we 
love so dearly as life ; with what ardor of soul, with what ear- 
nestness of purpose, should we not seek that eternal happiness, 
which, without alloy of any sort, presents to us the pure and 
unmixed enjoyment of every good? The happiness of eternal 
life is, as defined by the Fathers, " an exemption from all evil, 

(9) Vid. Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 12. cap. 20. lib. 22. c. 29, & SO. de libero arbit. 
cap. 25. de verb. Domini, serm. 64, &serm. 37, de Sanctis. 

(10) Act. xiv. 22. (11) 2 Pet. i. 11. (12) Matth. v. 3. 20. 
(13) Luke, xxiii. 43. (14) Apoc. xxi. 10. (15) John, xiv. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 125 

" and an enjoyment, of all good." (16) That it is an exemption 
from all evil, the Scriptures declare in the most explicit terms : 
" they shall no more hunger and thirst," says S. John, " neither 
"shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat;" (17) and again, 
" God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes : and death 
" shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow, shall 
"be any more, for the former things are past away." (18) But 
the glory of the blessed shall be without measure, and their 
solid joys and pleasure without number. The mind is incapa- 
ble of comprehending or conceiving the greatness of this glory : 
it can be known only by its fruition, that is, by entering into 
the joy of the Lord, and thus satisfying fully the desires of the 
human heart. Although, as S. Augustine observes, it would 
seem easier, to enumerate the evils from which we should be 
exempt, than the goods and the pleasures which we shall en- 
joy ; (19) yet we must endeavour to explain, briefly and clear- 
ly, those things which are calculated to enflame the faithful 
with a desire of arriving at the enjoyment of this supreme fe- 
licity. 

Before we proceed to this explanation, we shall make use of Happiness 

i-ii • • two-fold 

a distinction, which has been sanctioned by the most eminent essential 
writers on religion ; it is, that there are two sorts of goods, *° acces - 
one an ingredient, another an accompaniment of happiness. 
The former, therefore, for sake of perspicuity, they have call- 
ed essential ; the latter, accessary. Solid happiness, which 
we may designate by the common appellation, " essential," 
consists in the vision of God, and the enjoyment of his eter- 
nal beauty who is the source and principle of all goodness and 
perfection : " This," says our Lord, " is eternal life, that they 
" may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
" thou hast sent." (20) These sentiments S.John seems to in- 
terpret, when he says : " Dearly beloved ! We are now the 
" sons of God ; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. 
" We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like to 
"him : because we shall see him, as he is." (21) These words 

(16) Chrysost. in 30. cap. ad Theod. lapsum. Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 22. cap. 
30. Anselni. epist. 2. et de similit. c. 47. et seq. (17) Apoc. vii. 16. 

(18) Apoc. xxi. 4. (19) Serm. vi. 4. de verb. Domini et de Symb. ad 

Catech. lib. 3. (20) John,xvii. S. (21) 1 John, iii. 2. 



126 THE CATECHISM OF 

inform us that the happiness of heaven consists of two things : 
to see God such as he is in his own nature and suhstance, and 
to be made like unto him. 

. Those who enjoy the beatific vision, whilst they retain their 

Effect of , „ . ■ i • 1 1- ■ , i j- • 

the beatific own nature, shall assume a certain admirable and almost divine 

the blessed f° rm > so as to seem g oc ^ s rather than men ; and why they as- 
sume this form, becomes at once intelligible, if we only reflect 
that every thing is known from its essence, or from its resem- 
blance and external appearance: but, as nothing resembles God, 
so as to afford, by that resemblance, a perfect knowledge of 
municated bim, no creature can behold his divine nature and essence, un- 
to them. | ess admitted by the Deity to a sort of union with himself; ac- 
cording to these words of S. Paul : " We now see through a 
" glass in a dark manner, but then face to face." (22) The 
words, " in a dark manner," S. Augustine understands to mean 
that we see him in a resemblance calculated to convey to us 
some faint notion of the Deity. (23) This, S. Denis clearly 
shows, when he says : " The things above cannot be known by 
" comparison with the things below ; for, the essence and sub- 
" stance of any thing incorporeal must be known, through the 
" medium of that which is corporeal : particularly as a resem- 
" blancemust be less gross and more spiritual, than that which 
" it represents, as we know, from universal-experience. Since, 
" therefore, we can find nothing created, equally pure and spi- 
" ritual with God, no resemblance can enable us, perfectly to 
" comprehend the divine essence." (24) Moreover, all creat- 
ed things are circumscribed within certain limits of perfection ; 
but God is circumscribed by no limits, and therefore nothing 
created can reflect his immensity. The only means, therefore, 
of arriving at a knowledge of the divine essence, is that God 
unite himself in some sort to us ; and, after an incomprehensi- 
ble manner, elevate our minds to a higher degree of perfec- 
tion, and thus render us capable of contemplating the beauty of 
his nature. This the light of his glory will accomplish : illu- 
mined by its splendour, we shall see God, the true light, in his 
• own light. (25) The blessed always see God present, and by 

(22) 1 Cor. xiii. 12. (23) Aug. lib. 1 5. de Civ. Dei, c. 9 . 

(24) Dionys. Areop. de divin. nom. c. 1. (26) Ps. xxxv. 10. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 127 

this greatest and most exalted of gifts, " being made partakers of 
" the divine nature,"" (26) they enjoy true and solid happiness. 
Our belief of this truth should therefore be animated by an as- 
sured hope of one day arriving, through the divine goodness, 
at the same happy term ; according to these words of the Ni- 
cene Creed: "I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the 
"life of the world to come." These are divine truths which 
defy the powers of human language, and mock the limits of 
human comprehension. We may, however, trace some resem- An illus ~ 

r ■".•'- tration of 

blance of this happy change in sensible objects, for as iron, this truth. 

when acted on by fire, becomes ignited, and, whilst it is sub- 
stantially the same, seems changed into fire, which is a differ- 
ent substance ; so the blessed, who are admitted into the glory 
of heaven, and who burn with a love of God, although they 
cease not to be the same, are yet affected in such a manner, as that 
they may be said with truth to differ more from the inhabit- 
ants of this earth, than iron, when ignited, differs from itself 
when cold. 

To say all in a few words : supreme and absolute happiness, In what es- 
which we call essential, consists in the possession of God ; for 8 ^^, c 'on- 
what can he want to consummate his happiness, who possesses sists - 
God, the fountain of all good, the fullness of all perfection? 

To this happiness, however, are appended certain gifts, The ac- 
which are common to all the blessed, and which, because ^a^iness!" 
more within the reach of human comprehension, are generally 
found more effectual in exciting the mind and inflaming the 
heart. (27) These the Apostle seems to have in view, when, 
in his epistle to the Romans, he says : " Glory, and honor, and 
" peace, to every one that worketh good." (28) The blessed 
shall enjoy glory, not only that glory which we have already 
shown to constitute essential happiness, or to be its insepara- 
ble accompaniment ; but also that glory which consists in the 
clear and comprehensive knowledge, which each of the bless- 
ed shall have of the singular and exalted dignity of his com- 
panions in glory. 

But how distinguished must not that honour be which is con- The first. 
ferred by God himself, who no longer calls them servants but 

(26) 2 Pet. i. 4. (27) Aug de Civ. Dei, lib. xxii. c. 30. (2S) Rom. ii. 10. 



128 THE CATECHISM OF 

friends, (29) brethren, (30) and sons of God! (31) Hence, the 
Redeemer will address his elect in these words, which at once 
breathe infinite love, and bespeak the highest honor : " Come 
" ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared 
" for you." (32) Justly then, may we exclaim with the psalm- 
ist: " Thy friends, O God ! are made exceedingly honorable." 
(33) They shall also receive the highest praise from Christ 
the Lord, in presence of his Heavenly Father and before the 

The sec- a Sse mbled hosts of heaven. And, if nature has interwoven in 

ond. ' 

the human heart, the desire of honor, particularly when con- 
ferred by men eminent for wisdom, who are, therefore, the 
most authoritative vouchers of merit ; what an accession of 
glory to the blessed, to evince towards each other the highest 
veneration ? 

The third. To enumerate all the delights with which the souls of the 
blessed shall be inebriated, would be an endless task : we can- 
not even conceive them in idea : with this truth, however, the 
minds of the faithful should be deeply impressed, that the hap- 
piness of the saints is full to overflowing, of all those pleasures 
which can be enjoyed or even desired in this life, whether they 
regard the powers of the mind or the perfection of the body : 
a consummation more exalted in the manner of its accomplish- 
ment, than, to use the words of the Apostle, " eye hath seen, 

The fourth " ear heard, or the heart of man conceived." (34) — The body, 
which was before gross and material, having put off mortality, 
and now refined and spiritualised, shall no longer stand in need 

The fifth, of corporal nutriment: whilst the soul shall be satiated with 
that eternal food of glory, which the master of that great feast 

The sixth w \\\ minister, in person, to all. (35) Who will desire rich ap- 
parel or royal robes, where these appendages of human gran- 
deur shall be superseded ; and all shall be clothed with immor- 
tality and splendor, and adorned with a crown of imperishable 

The sev- glory ! And, if the possession of a spacious and magnificent 

enth. mansion forms an ingredient in human happiness, what more? 
spacious, what more magnificent, can imagination picture, than 
the mansion of heaven, illumined, as it is throughout, with the 

(?9) John, xv. 14. (30) Matth. xii. 49. (31) Rom. viii. 15, 16. 

(32 j Matth. xxv. 34. (33^ Ps. cxxxviii. 17. (34) 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
(35) Luke, xii. 37. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 129 

blaze of glory which encircles the Godhead ! Hence, the pro- 
phet, contemplating the beauty of this dwelling 1 place, and 
burning with the desire of reaching those mansions of bliss, ex- 
claims : " How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts ! 
" my soul longeth and. fainteth for the courts of the Lord : my 
" heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God." (SQ) That 
the faithful may be all filled with the same sentiments, and ut- 
ter the same language, should be the object of the pastor's 
most earnest desires; as it should be of his zealous labours. 
" In my Father's house," says our Lord, " there are many man- 
sions," (37) in which shall be distributed rewards of greater 
and of less value, according to each one's deserts ; for " He 
" who soweth sparingly, shall reap sparingly : and he who 
" soweth in blessings, shall also reap of blessings." (38) 

The pastor, therefore, will not only move the faithful to a de- How toar- 
sire of arriving at this happiness, but will frequently remind enjoyment 
them that, infallibly to attain it, they must possess the virtues °f thlslia P- 
of faith and charity ; they must persevere in the dxercise of 
prayer, and the salutary use of the sacraments, and in a faithful 
discharge of all the good offices which spring from fraternal 
charity. Thus, through the mercy of God, who has prepared 
that blessed glory for those who serve him, shall be one day 
fulfilled the words of the prophet : " My people shall sit in the 
"beauty of peace, and in the tabernacles of confidence and of 
" wealthy rest." (39) 



(36) 
(38) 



(37) John, xiv. 2. 
2 Cor. ix. 6. (39) Isaias, xxxii. 13. 



17 



THE 

CATECHISM 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



PART II. 

ON THE SACRAMENTS. 



A know- If the exposition of every part of the doctrines of Christian- 
Sacra- ie ity demands knowledge and assiduity on the part of the pastor, 
UcTiarf"" ^ at °^^ e Sacraments, which, by the ordinance of God, are a 
necessary, necessary means of salvation, and a plenteous source of spirit- 
ual advantage, demands, in a special manner, the application of 
his combined talents and industry. (1) Thus, by accurate and 
frequent instruction, shall the faithful be enabled to approach 
worthily and with salutary effect, those inestimable and most 
holy institutions ; and the pastor will not depart from the rule 
laid down in the divine prohibition : " Give not that which is 
" holy to dogs : neither cast ye your pearls before swine." (2) 
Different As then we are about to treat of the Sacraments in general, 
meanings ft j s p r0 p er to begin, in the first place, by explaining the force 
Sacra- and meaning of the word " Sacrament," and removing all am- 
biguity as to its signification, in order the more easily to com- 
prehend the sense in which it is here used. The faithful, there- 

(1) Vid. Concil. Trid. sess. 17. (2) Matth. vii. 6. 



ment. 



THE CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 131 

fore, are to be informed that the word Sacrament is differently 
understood by sacred and profane writers ; and to point out its 
different acceptations will be found pertinent to our present 
purpose. By some it has been used to express the obligation, L 
which arises from an oath, pledging to the performance of some 
service ; and hence, the oath, by which soldiers promise mili- 
tary service to the state, has been called a military Sacrament. 
Amongst profane writers this seems to have been the most ordi- 
nary meaning of the word. But, by the Latin Fathers, who IL 
have written on theological subjects, the word Sacrament is 
used to signify a sacred thing which lies concealed. The Greeks, 
to express the same idea, made use of the word " Mystery." 
This, we understand to be the meaning of the word, when, in 
the epistle to the Ephesians, it is said : " that he might make 
" known to us the mystery (sacramentum) of his will ; (3) and 
to Timothy, " great is the mystery (sacramentum) of godli- 
" ness ;" (4) and in the book of Wisdom : " They knew not the 
" secrets (sacramenta) of God." (5) In these and many other 
passages the word Sacrament, it will be perceived, signifies no- 
thing more than a holy thing that lies concealed. The Latin m. 
Fathers, therefore, deemed the word no inappropriate term to 
express a sensible sign, which, at once, communicates grace to 
the soul of the receiver, and declares, and, as it were, places 
before the eyes the grace which it communicates. S. Gregory, 
however, is of opinion that it is called a Sacrament, because 
through its instrumentality, the divine power secretly operates 
our salvation, under the veil of sensible things. (6) 

Let it not, however, be supposed that the word Sacrament Sacrament 
is of recent ecclesiastical usage. Whoever peruses the writ- a w . ordof 

° r ancient ec- 

ings of SS. Jerome, (7) and Augustine, (8) will at once per- clesiastical 
ceive, that ancient ecclesiastical writers made frequent use f usage< 
the word " Sacrament," and sometimes also of the word " sym- 
" bol," or " mystical or sacred sign," to designate that of which 
we here speak. Thus much will suffice in explanation of the 
word Sacrament; and indeed, what we have said applies equal- 

(3) Eph. i. 9. (A) 1 Tim. iii. 16. (5) Wisd. ii. 22. 

(6) D. Greg, in 1. Reg. cap. 16, vers. 13. 

(7) Vid. Hieron. in Amos. c. i. v. 1. & Iren. c. 1. v. 15. 

(8) Aug. in Joan. Tract. SO. in fine, et contra Faust, lib. 19. e. 11. Cypr. 
epist. 15. etlib. de bapt. Christ. 



132 THE CATECHISM OF 

ly to the Sacraments of the old law: but superseded, as they 
have been, by the gospel law and grace, instruction regarding 
them were superfluous. 
Definition Besides the meaning of the word, which alone has hitherto 
of a Sacra- engaged our attention, the nature and efficacy of that which it 
expresses demand our particular enquiry ; and the faithful must 
be taught what constitutes a Sacrament. That the Sacraments 
are amongst the means of attaining righteousness and salvation, 
cannot be questioned: but of the many definitions, each of them 
sufficiently appropriate, which may serve to explain the nature 
of a Sacrament, there is none more comprehensive, none more 
perspicuous, than that of S. Augustine: a definition which has 
since been adopted by all scholastic writers : " A Sacrament," 
says he, " is a sign of a sacred thing :" or in other words of 
the same import : " A Sacrament is a visible sign of an invisi- 
" ble grace, instituted for our justification." (9) 
Definition The more fully to develope this definition, the pastor will 
explained. eX p] am ft \ n a n ft s parts. He will first observe, that sensible 
objects are of two sorts ; some invented as signs, others not in- 
vented as signs, but existing absolutely and in themselves. To 
the latter class, almost every object in nature may be said to 
belong; to the former, spoken and written languages, military 
standards, images, trumpets, and a multiplicity of other things 
of the same sort, too numerous to be mentioned. Thus, with 
regard to words ; take away their power of expressing ideas, 
and you seem to take away the only reason for their invention. 
They are, therefore, properly called signs : for, according to 
S. Augustine, a sign, besides what it presents to the senses, is a 
medium through which we arrive at the knowledge of some- 
thing else: from a footstep, for instance, which we see traced 
on the ground, we instantly infer that some one whose footstep 
appears has passed. (10) 
A Sacra- A Sacrament, therefore, is clearly to be numbered amongst 
ment prov- those things which have been instituted as signs: it makes 
"sign." known to us by external resemblance, that which God, by his 
invisible power, accomplishes in our souls. (11) To illustrate 

(9) D. Aug. lib. 10. de Civ. Dei, c. 5. &epist. 2. 

(10) Aug. 1. 2. dedoct. Christ, c. 1. 

(11) Aug. de doct. Christ. 1. 3. c. 9. & epist. 23. & de Catch, erud. c. 26. potest 
videri Tertul. de resur. carnis. c. 8. & Greg, in 1. Reg. lib. 6. c. 3. post init. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 133 

what we have said by an example ; baptism, for instance, 
which is administered by external ablution, accompanied with 
certain solemn words, signifies that by the power of the Holy 
Ghost, all the interior stains and defilements of sin are washed 
away, and that the soul is enriched and adorned with the ad- 
mirable gift of heavenly justification; whilst, at the same time, 
the baptismal ablution, as we shall hereafter explain in its pro- 
per place, accomplishes in the soul, that of which it is exter- 
nally significant. That a Sacrament is to be numbered amongst 
signs is clearly inferred from Scripture. Speaking of circum- 
cision, a Sacrament of the old law which was given to Abra- 
ham, the father of all believers, (12) the Apostle, in his epistle 
to the Corinthians, says ; " and he received the sign of cir- 
" cumcision, and a seal of the justice of the faith which he 
" had ;" (13) and in another place : " All we," says he, " who 
" are baptised in Christ Jesus, are baptised in his death :" (14) 
words which justify the inference that baptism signifies, to use 
the words of the same Apostle, that " we are buried together 
"with him by baptism into death." (15) To know that the 
Sacraments are signs, is important to the faithful. This know- 
ledge will lead them more readily to believe, that what they 
signify, contain, and effectuate, is holy and august ; and recog- 
nising their sanctity, they will be more disposed to venerate 
and adore the beneficence of God displayed towards us in 
their institution. 

We now come to explain the words, " sacred thing," which Also, "a 
constitute the second part of the definition. To render this t hi ng .» 
explanation satisfactory we must enter somewhat more minute- 
ly into the accurate and acute reasoning of S. Augustine on 
the variety of signs. (16) 

Of signs some are called natural, which, besides making 0f . g 
themselves known to us, also convey a knowledge of some- some are 
thing else; an effect, as we have already said, common to all 
signs. Smoke, for instance, is a natural sign from which we 
immediately infer the existence of fire. It is called a natural 
sign, because it implies the existence of fire, not by arbitrary 

(12)Gen.xvii. 10. (13; Rom. iv. 11. (14) Rom. vi. 3. 

' (15) Rom. vi. 4. (16) Lib. 1. de doctr. Christ, c. 1. 



134 THE CATECHISM OF 

institution, but by its intimate connection with that element : 
when smoke appears we are at once convinced of the exist- 
ence of latent fire. (17) 

Other signs are not natural, but conventional, invented and 

some con- ° ' J 

ventional. instituted by men to enable them to commune one with anoth- 
er, mutually to convey their sentiments and communicate 
their counsels. The variety and multiplicity of such signs 
may be inferred from the circumstance, that some belong to 
the eyes, some to the ears, some to each of the other senses. 
When we intimate any thing by a sensible sign, for instance, 
by removing a military standard, it is obvious that such inti- 
mation can reach us only through the medium of the eyes : and 
it is equally obvious that the sound of the trumpet, of the lute, 
and of the lyre, instruments which are not only sources of 
pleasure, but frequently signs of ideas, is addressed to the ear. 
Through the latter sense, are also conveyed words, which are 
the best medium of communicating our inmost thoughts. 
Signs in- Besides those signs of which we have hitherto spoken, and 
God: some which are conventional ; there are others, and confessedly of 
oniv- Cant more sor ts than one, which are of divine appointment. Some 
others sig- were instituted by God, solely to indicate something, or recall 
efficient, its recollection : such were the purifications of the law, the 
showbread, and many other things which belonged to the Mo- 
saic worship ; (18) others not only to signify, but, also, to ac- 
complish what they signify. Among the latter are manifest- 
ly to be numbered the Sacraments of the New Law. They are 
signs instituted by God, not invented by man, which we be- 
lieve, with an unhesitating faith, to carry with them that sa- 
cred efficacy of which they are the signs. Having, therefore, 
shown that signs present a variety of appearances ; the " sa- 
" cred thing" which they contain, must also exist under a va- 
riety of forms. 
Meaning With regard to the proposed definition of a Sacrament, di- 
of the vines prove that by the words '• sacred thing," is to be un- 
" sacred derstood the grace of God, which sanctifies the soul and 
ing " adorns it with every virtue ; and of this grace they consider 

(17) Aug. dedoct. Christ. 1. 2. c. 1. et seq. (18) Aug. dedoct. Christ. 

3. c. 9. Exod. xii. 15. Concil. Trid. sess. 7. de Sacr. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 135 

the words " sacred thing," an appropriate appellation, because 
by its salutary influence the soul is consecrated and united to 
God. 

In order, therefore, to explain more fully the nature of a Sa- . „ 
crament, the pastor will teach that it is a thing subject to the explana- 
senses ; and, possessing by divine institution, at once the pow- sacramen t, 
er of signifying sanctity and justice, and of imparting both to 
the receiver. Hence, it is easy to perceive, that the images 
of the saints, crosses, and the like, although signs of sacred 
things, cannot be called Sacraments. That such is the nature 
of a Sacrament is easily proved by applying to each of the Sa- 
craments what has been already said of baptism, viz. that the 
solemn ablution of the body not only signifies, but has power 
to effect a sacred thing which is wrought in the soul by the 
invisible operation of the Holy Ghost. 

It is also preeminently, the property of these mystical signs, Every sa- 
instituted by Almighty God, to signify, by divine appointment, safe's 
more than one thing, and this applies to all the Sacraments. t j"' ee 
All declare not only our sanctity and justification, but also two 
other things most intimately connected with both — the Passion 
of our Lord, which is the source of our sanctification, and 
eternal life to which, as to its end, our sanctification should be 
referred. Such, then, being the nature of all the Sacraments, 
the doctors of the Church justly hold, that each of them has a 
three-fold significancy ; reminding us of something passed, in- 
dicating something present, foretelling something future. When 
we say that this is an opinion, held by the Doctors of the 
Church, let it not be imagined that it is unsupported by Scrip- 
tural authority. When the Apostle says : " All we who are 
" baptised in Christ Jesus, are baptised in his death ;" (19) he 
gives us, clearly, to understand that baptism is called a sign, 
because it reminds us of the death and passion of our Lord — 
When he says : " We are buried together with him by bap- 
" tism into death, that as Christ is risen from the dead by the 
" glory of the Father, so, we, also, may walk in newness of 
" life ;" (20) he also clearly shows, that baptism is a sign 
which indicates the infusion of divine grace into the soul, ena- 

(19) Rom. vi. 3. (20) Rom. vi. 4. 



1 36 THE CATECHISM OF 

bles us by its efficacy to form our lives anew, and renders the 
performance of all the duties of true piety at once easy and in- 
viting. Finally, when he adds : " If we have been planted to- 
gether in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the 
" likeness of his resurrection;" (21) he teaches that baptism 
gives no obscure intimation of eternal life also, which we are 
to reach through its efficacy. 
A Sacra- Besides the different significations already evolved, the Sa- 
&ometimes craments also not unfrequently indicate and mark the presence 
signifies f more ([ mn one thing. The holy Eucharist, for instance, at 
sence of once signifies the presence of the real body and blood of Christ, 
one'thin? 1 anc * ^ ie o race which it imparts to the worthy receiver. What 
has been said, therefore, cannot fail to supply the pastor with 
arguments to prove, how much the power of God is displayed 
— how many hidden miracles are contained in the Sacraments ; 
that thus all may know and feel their obligation to reverence 
them with the most profound veneration, and to receive them 
with the most ardent devotion. 
The Sacra- But of all the means employed to make known the proper 
why^msti- use °*" ^ ie Sacraments, there is none more effectual than a 
tuted. careful exposition of the reasons of their institution. Amongst 
these reasons, for they are many, the first is the imbecility of 
the human mind : we are so constituted by nature, that no one 
can aspire to mental and intellectual knowledge, unless through 
the medium of sensible objects. Impelled, therefore, by his 
goodness towards us and guided by his wisdom, the Sovereign 
Creator of the universe, in order to bring the mysterious ef- 
fects of his divine power more immediately within the sphere 
of our comprehension, has ordained that it should be manifest- 
ed to us, through the intervention of certain sensible signs. 
As S. Chrysostom happily expresses it : " If man were not 
" clothed with a material body, these good things would have 
" been presented to him unveiled by sensible forms ; but, as he 
" is composed of body and soul, it was absolutely necessary 
" to employ sensible signs, in order to assist in making them 
"understood." (22) 

(21) Rom. vi. 5. 

(22j Chrys. horn. 83. in Matth. and horn. 60. ad Pop. Antioch. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 137 

Another reason is, because the mind yields a reluctant as- Second, 
sent to promises ; and hence, God, from the beginning of the 
world, very frequently, and in express terms points our atten- 
tion to the promises which he had made ; and when designing 
to execute something, the magnitude of which might weaken 
a belief in its accomplishment, he confirms his promise by 
signs, *which sometimes appear miraculous. When, for in- 
stance, God sends Moses to deliver the people of Israel ; and 
Moses, commissioned as he was by God, and shielded by his 
protecting arm, still hesitates, fearing his incompetency to the 
task imposed on him, or the incredulous rejection of the divine 
oracles on the part of the people, the Almighty confirms his 
promise by many signs. (23) As, then, in the old law, God 
ordained that every important promise should be confirmed by 
certain signs ; so, in the new, our divine Redeemer, when he 
promises pardon of sin, divine grace, the communication 
of the Holy Spirit, has instituted certain sensible signs which 
are so many pledges of the inviolability of his word — pledges 
which we are well assured he will not fail to redeem. (24) 

A third reason is, that the Sacraments bring, to use the Third, 
words of S. Ambrose, the healing remedies and medicines, as 
it were, of the Samaritan mentioned in the Gospel. God wishes 
us to have recourse to them in order to preserve or recover the 
health of the soul; (25) for, through the Sacraments as through 
its proper channel, should flow into the soul the efficacy of the 
passion of Christ, that is, the grace which he purchased for us 
on the altar of the cross, and without which we cannot hope for 
salvation. Hence, our most merciful Redeemer has bequeathed 
to his Church, Sacraments stamped with the sanction of his 
word, and sealed with the security of his promise, through 
which, provided we make pious and devout use of these sove- 
reign remedies, we firmly believe that the fruit of his passion 
is really conveyed to our souls. 

A fourth reason why the institution of the Sacraments may f^fa 
seem necessary is, that there may be certain marks and sym- 
bols to distinguish the faithful ; particularly as ; to use the words 

(23) Exod. iii. 10, 11. Ibid. iv. 2. 

(24) Aug. lib. 4. de baptis. contra Donatist. cap. 24. 

(25) Ambr. lib. 5. de Sacr. c. 4. 

18 



13S THE CATECHISM OF 

of S. Augustine, " no society of men, professing a true or a 
" false religion, can, as it were, be incorporated, unless united 
" and held together by some federal bond of sensible signs." 
(26) Both these objects, the Sacraments of the new law ac- 
complish; distinguishing the Christian from the infidel, and 
connecting the faithful by a sort of sacred bond. 
Fifth. Again, the Apostle says : " With the heart we believe unto 

"justice; but with the mouth confession is made unto salva- 
" tion." (27) These words, also, afford another very just rea- 
son for the institution of the Sacraments — by approaching 
them, we make a public profession of our faith in the face of 
all men. Thus, when we stand before the baptismal font, we 
openly profess our belief in its efficacy, and declare that, by 
virtue of its salutary waters, in which we are washed, the soul 
is spiritually cleansed and regenerated. The Sacraments have 
also great influence, not only in exciting and exercising our 
faith, but also in inflaming that charity with which we should 
love one another ; recollecting that, by participating of these 
mysteries in common, we are knit together in the closest bonds 
of union, and are made members of one body. 
Sixth. Finally, and the consideration is of the highest importance 

in the study of Christian piety, the Sacraments repress and 
subdue the pride of the human heart, and exercise the Chris- 
tian in the practice of humility, by obliging him to a subjection 
to sensible elements ; that thus, in atonement for his criminal 
defections from God to serve the elements of this world, he 
may yield to the Almighty the tribute of his obedience. These 
are principally what appeared to us necessary for the instruc- 
tion of the faithful, in the name, nature and institution of a Sa- 
crament. When they shall have been accurately expounded 
by the pastor, his next duty will be, to explain the constituent 
parts of each Sacrament, and the rites and ceremonies used in 
its administration. 
Every Sa- l n the first place, then, the pastor will inform the faithful, 
consists of that the " sensible thing" which enters into the definition of a 
matterand g acram ent as already given, although constituting but one sign, 

(26) D. Aug. lib. 19. contra Faust, c. 1 1. and de vera rel. c. 1 7. Basil, in exh. 
ad bapt. (27) Rom. x. 10. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 139 

is of a two fold nature : every Sacrament consists of two things : 
" matter," which is called the element, and ''form," which is 
commonly called "the word." This is the doctrine of the 
Fathers of the Church, upon which the testimony of S. Augus- 
tine is familiar to all : " The word," says he, "is joined to the 
" element, and it becomes a Sacrament." (28) By the words 
" sensible thing," therefore, the Fathers understand not only 
the matter or element, such as water in baptism, chrism in con- 
firmation, and oil in extreme-unction, all of which fall under the 
eye; but also the words which constitute the form, and which 
are addressed to the ear. Both are clearly pointed out by the 
Apostle, when he says : " Christ loved the Church, and deliv- 
" ered himself up for it, that he might sanctify it, cleansing it 
"by the laver of water in the word of life." (29) Here the 
matter and form of the Sacrament are expressly mentioned. 
But in order to explain, more fully and clearly, the particular 
efficacy of each, the words which compose the form were to be 
added to the matter ; for of all signs, words are evidently the 
most significant, and without them it would be difficult to com- 
prehend what the matter of the Sacraments may designate and 
declare. Water, for instance, has the quality of cooling as 
well as of cleansing, and may be symbolic of either. In bap- 
tism, therefore, unless the words were added, it might be mat- 
ter of conjecture, of certainty it could not, which was signified ; 
but when the words which compose the form are added, we 
are no longer at a loss to understand, that baptism possesses 
and signifies the power of cleansing. (30) 

In this, the Sacraments of the New Law excel those of the The Sa- 
Old, that there was no definite form, known to us, of adminis- oft^New 
tering those of the Old, a circumstance which rendered them Law > ex ~ 

n i i m i n , ce l those 

uncertain and obscure, whilst, on those of the New, the form is of the Old 
so definite, that any, even a casual, deviation- from it renders 
the Sacrament null ; and it is therefore expressed in the clear- 
est terms, and such as exclude the possibility of doubt. These 
then are the parts which belong to the" nature and substance of 
the Sacraments, and of which every Sacrament is necessarily 
composed. 

(28) Aug. in Joan, tract. 80. (29) Eph. v. 25. 

(30) Aug. de doct. Christi. lib. ii. c. 3. 



140 THE CATECHISM OF 

Sacra- To these are added certain ceremonies, which, although not 

rnents ad- . . . , ' ' . & 

ministered to be omitted without sin, unless in case of necessity, yet, 11 at 
monies 6 ™" an ^ t ' me om i tte d, because not essential to its existence, do not 
why. invalidate the Sacrament. It is not without good reason that 
the administration of the Sacraments has been, at all times, from 
the- earliest ages of the Church, accompanied with certain so- 
First rea- lemn ceremonies. There is, in the first place, an obvious pro- 
priety in manifesting such a religious reverence to the sacred 
Second, mysteries, as to appear to handle holy things holily. These 
ceremonies also serve to display more fully, and place as it 
were before our eyes, the effects of the Sacraments, and to 
impress more fully on the minds of the faithful the sanctity of 
Third. these sacred institutions. They also elevate to sublime con- 
templation, the minds of those who behold them with respect- 
ful and religious attention ; and excite within them the virtues 
of faith and of charity. To enable the faithful therefore to 
know, and understand clearly, the meaning of the ceremonies 
made use of in the administration of each Sacrament, should 
be an object of special care and attention to the pastor. 
Number of We now come to explain the number of the Sacraments; 
ments,use- a knowledge of which is attended with this advantage, that 
ful to be Qj e g rea t er f-hg number of supernatural aids to salvation which 
the faithful shall understand to have been provided by the di- 
vine goodness, the more ardent the piety with which they will 
direct all the powers of their souls to praise and proclaim the 
singular beneficence of God. 
Their The Sacraments then of the Catholic Church are seven, as 

seven.^' ^ s P rove d from Scripture, from the unbroken tradition of the 
Fathers, and from the authoritative definitions of councils. (31) 
Explained Why they are neither more nor less, may be shown, at least 
by analo- ^.^ gome d e g ree f probability, even from the analogy that 
exists between natural and spiritual life. In order to exist, 
to preserve existence, and to contribute to his own and to the 
public good, seven things seem necessary to man — to be born 
— to grow — to be nurtured — to be cured when sick — when 
weak to be strengthened — as far as regards the public weal, 

(3\) Trid. sess. 7. can. 1. de sac. in gen. Cone. Flo. in dec. ad Arm. D. Th. 
p. 3. q. 63. art. 1. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 141 

to have magistrates invested with authority to govern — and, 
finally, to perpetuate himself and his species by legitimate off- 
spring. Analogous then as all these things obviously are, to 
that life by which the soul lives to God, we discover in them a 
reason to account for the number of the Sacraments. Amongst Bastism. 
them, the first is Baptism, the gate, as it were, to all the other 
Sacraments, by which we are born again to Christ — The next Confirma- 
is Confirmation, by which we grow up, and are strengthened 
in the grace of God ; for, as S. Augustine observes, " to the 
" Apostles who have already received baptism, the Redeemer 
" said : ' stay you in the city till you be indued with power 
" < from on high' " (32)— The third is the Eucharist, that true Eucharist. 
bread from heaven which nourishes our souls to eternal life, 
according to these words of the Saviour : " My flesh is meat 
" indeed, and my blood is drink indeed" (33) — The fourth is Penance. 
Penance, by which the soul, which has caught the contagion 
of sin, is restored to spiritual health — The fifth is Extreme Extreme- 
Unction, which obliterates the traces of sin, and invigorates 
the powers of the soul ; of which S. James says : " if he be in 
" sins, they shall be forgiven him" (34)— The sixth is Holy f°£ ° r " 
Orders, which gives power to perpetuate in the Church the 
public administration of the Sacraments, and the exercise of 
all the sacred functions of the ministry (35) — The seventh a nd Matrimon y 
last is Matrimony, a sacrament instituted for the legitimate 
and holy union of man and woman, for the conservation of the 
human race, and the education of children, in the knowledge 
of religion, and the love and fear of God. 

All and each of the Sacraments, it is true, possess an admi- All the Sa- 
rable efficacy given them by God ; but it is well worthy of re- notTquaKy 
mark, that all are not of equal necessity or of equal dignity, nor necessary. 
is the signification of all the same. Amongst them three are 
of paramount necessity, a necessity, however, which arises 
from different causes — The universal and absolute necessity of 
baptism, these words of the Redeemer unequivocally declare : 
" Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, 
" he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (36) The neces- 

(32) D. Aug. ep. 108. &Luke, xxiv. 49. (33) John, vi. 55. 

(34) James, v. 15. (35) Luke, v. 14. (36) John, iii. 5. 



142 THE CATECHISM OF 

sity for Penance is relative : Penance is necessary for those 
only who have stained their baptismal innocence, by mortal 
guilt : without sincere repentance, their eternal ruin is inevita- 
ble. Oiders, too, although not necessary to each of the faith- 
ful, are of absolute general necessity to the Church. (37) 
charist^x- But, the dignity of the Sacraments considered, the Eucharist, 
eels all the for holiness, and for the number and greatness of its mvsteries, 

others in . . 

dignity, is eminently superior to all the rest, lhese, however, are 
matters which will be more easily understood, when we come 
to explain, in its proper place, what regards each of the Sa- 
craments. (38) 
Christ, the We come, in the next place, to ask from whom we have re- 
author of ce \ ve & these sacred and divine mysteries : any boon, however 
ments. excellent in itself, receives no doubt an increased value and dig- 
nity from him by whose bounty it is bestowed. The question, 
however, is not one of difficult solution: justification comes 
from God ; the Sacraments are the wonderful instruments of 
justification ; one, and the same God in Christ, must, therefore, 
be the author of justification, and of the Sacraments. (39) The 
Sacraments, moreover, contain a power and efficacy which 
reach the inmost recesses of the soul ; and as God alone has 
power to enter into the sanctuary of the heart, he alone, through 
Christ, is manifestly the author of the Sacraments. That they 
are interiorly dispensed by him, is also matter of faith ; accord- 
ing to these words of S. John : " He who sent me to baptise 
" with water, said to me : he upon whom thou shalt see the 
" Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, he it is that bap- 
« tiseth with the Holy Ghost." (40) 
Men, their But God, although the author and dispenser of the Sacra- 
mims ers. men ^ W ould ] iave them administered in his Church by men, 
not by angels : and to constitute a Sacrament, as constant tra- 
dition testifies, matter and form are not more necessary than is 
the ministry of men. 
The un- j} u t representing as he does, in the discharge of his sacred 

worthiness „ , ' F , , , , ' r „■, ■ 

of the mi- functions, not his own, but the person oi Christ, the minister 

(37) Trid. 1. sess. 7, can. 3, 4, de Sacr. in gen. D. Th. p. 3. q. 65, art. 4. 

(38) Dionys. lib. de Eccles. Hier. c. 3. 

(39) Ambr. lib. 4. de Sacr. cap. 6. D. Tho. p. 3. q. 62, Trid. sess.7, can. 1. de 
Sacr. in gen. lib. de Eccles. dog. & Cassian. collat. 7. 18. (40) John, i. 33. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 143 

of the Sacraments, be he good or bad, validly consecrates and nister does 
, o -jiii/."'-, not affect- 

confers the Sacraments ; provided he make use of the matter the validi- 

and form instituted by Christ, and always observed in tke^JJ^^ 
Catholic Church, and intends to do what the Church does in 
their administration. Unless, therefore, Christians will deprive 
themselves of so great a good, and resist the Holy Ghost, no- 
thing can prevent them from receiving, through the Sacra- 
ments, the fruit of grace. (41) That this was, at all times, a 
fixed and well defined doctrine of the Church, is established 
beyond all doubt by S. Augustine, in his disputations against 
theDonatists ; (42) and should we desire Scriptural proof also, 
we have it in the words of S. Paul: " I have planted, Apollo 
" watered ; but God gave the increase." (43) Neither he that 
plants, therefore, nor he that waters, is any thing, but God who 
gives "the increase." As, therefore, in planting trees, the 
vices of the planter do not impede the growth of the vine, so, 
and the comparison is sufficiently intelligible, those who were 
planted in Christ by the ministry of bad men, sustain no injury 
from guilt which is not their own. Judas Iscariot, as the Ho- 
ly Fathers infer from the Gospel of S. John, (44) conferred 
baptism on many; and yet none of those whom he baptised are 
recorded to have been baptised again. To use the memora- 
ble words of S. Augustine : " Judas baptised, and yet after 
" him none were rebaptised : John baptised, and after John they 
" were rebaptised, because the baptism administered by Ju- 
" das was the baptism of Christ, but that administered by John 
" was the baptism of John : (45) not that we prefer Judas to 
" John, but that we justly prefer the baptism of Christ, although 
'.' administered by Judas, to the baptism of John, although ad- 
" ministered by the hands of John." (46) 

But, let not the pastor, or other minister of the Sacraments, To admin_ 

* m . . . lster the 

hence infer that he fully acquits himself of his duty, if, disre- Sacra- 

garding integrity of life and purity of morals, he attend only to ™ateofsin 

the administration of the Sacraments in the manner prescribed. 1S a g. riev - 

1 ous crime. 

True, the manner of administering them is a matter of the high- 

(41) Trid. sess. 7. de Sac. in gen. c. 11 & 12. Greg. Naz. in Orat. in S. 
bapt. Ambr.de his qui mist. init. cap. 5. Chrysost. hom. 8. in 1. Cor. 

(42j Aug. contra Crescen. 1.4. c. 20. contra Donat. 1. I.e. 4. & 1. 2. contra 
lit. Petil. c. 47. (43) 1 Cor. iii. 6. (44) John, iv. 2. 

(45) Acts, xix. 3, 4, 5. (46) Aug. in Joan. 



144 THE CATECHISM OF 

est importance ; but it is no less true, that it does not constitute 
all that enters into the worthy discharge of this duty. It should 
never be forgotten, that the Sacraments, although they cannot 
lose the divine efficacy inherent in them, bring eternal death and 
everlasting perdition on him who dares to administer them with 
hands stained with the defilement of sin. Holy things, and the 
observation cannot be too often repeated, should be treated ho- 
lily, and with due reverence : (47) " To the sinner," says the 
prophet, " God has said : why dost thou declare my justices, 
" and take my covenant in thy mouth, seeing that thou hast ha- 
" ted discipline ?" (48) If then, for him who is defiled by sin, 
it is unlawful to speak on divine things, how enormous the 
guilt of that man, who, with conscious guilt, dreads not to con- 
secrate with polluted lips these holy mysteries — to take them 
— to touch them — nay more, with sacrilegious hands, to ad- 
minister them to others ? (49) " The symbols," (so he calls the 
Sacraments) " the wicked," says S. Denis, " are not allowed 
" to touch." (50) It therefore becomes the first, the most im- 
portant duty of the minister of these holy things, to aspire to 
holiness of life, to approach with purity the administration of 
the Sacraments, and so to exercise himself in the practice of 
piety, that, from their frequent administration and use, they may 
every day receive, with the divine assistance, a more abun- 
dant effusion of grace. 
The effects When these important matters have been explained, the ef- 

of the Sa- * 

craments. fects of the Sacraments present to the pastor the next subject 

of instruction ; a subject, .it is hoped, which will throw consid- 
erable light on the definition of a Sacrament, as already given. 
Justifying The principal effects of the Sacraments are two ; sanctifying 
graCe * grace, and the character which they impress. The former, 
that is, the grace which we, in common with the doctors of the 
Church, call sanctifying grace, deservedly holds the first place. 
That this is an effect produced by the Sacraments, we know 
from these words of the Apostle : " Christ,'' says he, " loved 
" the Church, and delivered himself up for it ; that he might 
" sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of 

(47) Aug. in Joan, tract. 5. & contra Cresc. 1. 3. c. 6. D. Thorn, p. 3. q. 
93. art. 4. c. ' (48) Ps. xlix. 16. (49) Cone. Trid. can. 6. 

(50) S. Dion, de Eccl. Hier. c. 1. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 145 

"life." (51) But how so great and so admirable an effect is 
produced by the Sacraments, that, to use the words of S. Au- 
gustine, " water cleanses the body and reaches the heart :" (52) 
this, indeed, the mind of man, aided by the light of reason alone, 
is unequal to comprehend. It ought to be an established law, 
that nothing sensible can, of its own nature, reach the soul; but 
we know by the light of faith, that in the Sacraments exists the 
power of the omnipotent, effectuating that which the natural 
elements cannot of themselves accomplish. (53) 

That on this subiect no doubt may exist in the minds of the The grace 

" J , of the Sa- 

faithful, God, in the abundance of his mercy, was pleased, craments, 
from the moment of their institution, to manifest by exterior p rove d°by 
miracles, the effects which they operate interiorly in the soul : miracles, 
this he did, in order that we may always believe that the same 
interior effects, although inaccessible to the senses, are still 
produced by them. To say nothing of that which the Scrip- 
ture records — that, at the baptism of the Redeemer in the Jor- 
dan, " The heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost appear- 
" ed in the form of a dove ;" (54) to teach us, that when we 
are washed in the sacred font, his grace is infused into our 
souls — to omit those splendid miracles which have reference 
rather to the consecration of baptism, than to the administra- 
tion of the Sacraments — do we not read, that on the day of 
Pentecost, when the Apostles received the Holy Ghost, and 
were, thenceforward, inspired with greater courage and firmer 
resolution to preach the faith, and brave danger of every sort 
for the glory of Christ, " there came suddenly a sound from 
"heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole 
" house where they were sitting, and there appeared to them 
" parted tongues, as it were of fire." (55) These visible ef- 
fects give us to understand that, in the Sacrament of Confirm- 
ation, the same spirit is given us, and the same strength im- 
parted, which enable us resolutely to encounter, and with for- 
titude to resist, our implacable, enemies, the world, the flesh, 

(51) Eph. v. 25, 26. (5 2) S. Aug. in Joan, tract. 80. 

(53) De hoc effectu sacramen. vid. Trid. Sess. 7, can. 6, 7, 8. desacr. Aug. 
tract. 26. in Joan. & contr. Faust, c. 16, & 17, and in Ps. lxxvii. v. 15, 16. 

(54) Matth. iii. 16. Mark, i. 10. Luke, in. 92. (55) Acts, i. 2, 3. 



146 THE CATECHISM OF 

and the devil. (56) As often as these Sacraments were ad- 
ministered by the Apostles, so often, during the infancy of the 
Church, did the same miraculous effects follow ; and they ceas- 
ed not to be visible until the faith had acquired maturity and 
strength. 
The Sa- From what has been said of sanctifying grace, the first effect 

cra.in6nts 

of the new of the Sacraments, it also clearly follows, that there resides in 

rior to Pe " the Sacraments of the New Laiv, a virtue far more exalted and 

those of efficacious than that of the Sacraments of the Old, (57) which, 
the old. ' v 

as " weak and needy elements, (58) sanctified such as were 

u defiled to the cleansing of the flesh," (5P) but not of the spi- 
rit They were, therefore, instituted as signs only of those 
things, which were to be accomplished by the Sacraments of 
the new law — Sacraments which flowing from the side of 
Christ, " who, by the Holy Ghost, offered himself unspotted 
" unto God, cleanse our consciences from dead works, to 
" serve the living God," (60) and thus work in us, through the 
blood of Christ, the grace which they signify. Comparing 
them, therefore, with the Sacraments of the old law, we shall 
find that not only are they more efficacious, but, also, more 
exuberant of Spiritual advantages, and stamped with the char- 
acters of superior dignity and holiness. (61) 
Three of The other effect of the Sacraments, an effect, however, not 
ments im- common to all, but peculiar to three, Baptism, Confirmation, 
chanA r anc ^ ^°ty Orders, is the character which they irrjpress on the 
soul. When the Apostle says: "God hath anointed us, who 
" also hath sealed us, and given the pledge of the Spirit in our 
" hearts," (62) he clearly designates, by the word " sealed," 
this sacramental character, the property of which is to impress 
a seal and mark on the soul. This character is, as it were, a 
distinctive and indelible impression stamped on the soul ; (63) 
of which S. Augustine says : " Shall the Christian Sacraments. 
" accomplish less than the bodily mark impressed on the sol- 
" dier? That mark is not stamped on his person anew, as of- 

(56; Aug. lib. qusest. Vet. & Nov. Test. q. 93. 

(57) Aug. 1. 19. contr. Faust, c. IS, & in Ps. lxxxiii. Ambr. lib. de Sacr. c. 4. 
(5S) Gal. iv. 9. (59) Heb. ix. 13. (60) Heb. ix. 14. 

(61) Aug.lib. 2. de Simb. c. 6, & in Joan. Tract. 15, & lib. 15. de Civit. Dei, 
c. 26. (62) 2 Cor. i. 21. (63) Trid. ib. can. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 147 

" ten as he resumes the military service which he had relin- 
quished; but the old one is recognised and approved.' 1 (64) 

This character has a two-fold effect, it qualifies us to re- JJ^P** 
ceive or perform something sacred, and distinguishes us one 
from another. In the character impressed by Baptism, both 
effects are exemplified : by it we are qualified to receive the 
other Sacraments ; and the Christian is distinguished from those 
who profess not the name of Christ. The same illustration is 
afforded by the characters impressed by Confirmation and Ho- 
ly Orders : by the one we are armed and arrayed as soldiers of 
Christ, publicly to profess and defend his name, to fight against 
our domestic enemy, and against the spiritual powers of wick- 
edness in the high places, and are also distinguished from those 
who, being newly baptised, are, as it were, newborn infants: ■ 
the other combines the power of consecrating and administering 
the Sacraments, and also distinguishes those who are invested 
with this power, from the rest of the faithful. The rule of the 
Catholic Church is, therefore, inviolably to be observed : it 
teaches that these three Sacraments impress a character and 
are never to be reiterated. 

On the subject of the Sacraments in general, these are the Two 
matters of instruction which we proposed to deliver. In com- be'kepUn 
municating them to the faithful, the pastor will keep in view view ~ by 

. x 'the Pastor 

principally, two things : the one, to impress on the minds of in his ex- 
the faithful a deep sense of the honour, respect and veneration, Sf^theSa- 
due to these divine and celestial gifts ; the other, to urge on laments, 
all the necessity of having recourse, piously and religiously, 
to those sacred institutions established by the God of infinite 
mercy, for the common salvation of all ; and of being so inflam- 
ed with the desire of attaining Christian perfection, as to deem 
it a deplorable loss to be, for any time, deprived of the saluta- 
ry use, particularly, of Penance, and of the Holy Eucharist. 
These important objects the pastor will find little difficulty in 
accomplishing, if he press frequently on the attention of the 
faithful, what we have already said on the august dignity and 
salutary efficacy of the Sacraments — that they were instituted 

(64) De hoc charact. vide Aug. lib. 2. contr. ep. Parm. c. 33. & ep. 50, circa 
medium, & tract. 6, in Joan. & lect. 1. contr. Crescen. c. 30. item D. Thorn, 
p. 3. q. 63. 



1 48 THE CATECHISM OF 

by the Lord Jesus, from whom nothing imperfect can emanate 
— that when administered, the most powerful influence of the 
Holy Ghost is present, pervading the inmost sanctuary of the 
soul — that they possess an admirable and unfailing virtue to 
eyre our spiritual maladies, and communicate to us the inex- 
haustible riches of the passion of our Lord — in fine, that the 
whole edifice of Christian piety, although resting on the most 
firm foundation of the corner stone, unless supported on every 
side by the preaching of the divine word, and by the use of 
the Sacraments, must, it is greatly to be apprehended, having 
partially yielded, ultimately fall to the ground; for, as we are 
ushered into spiritual life by means of the Sacraments ; so, by 
the same means, we are nurtured and preserved, and grow to 
spiritual increase. 



ON THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 



Importance From what has been hitherto said on the Sacraments in ge- 
knowledge neral, we may judge how necessary it is 5 to a proper under- 
cramenfs 1 " stanc ^ n o °f tne doctrines of the Christian faith, and to the prac- 
in particu- tice of Christian piety, to know what the Catholic Church 
Of Bap- proposes to our belief on the Sacraments in particular. That 
tism. a p er f ec t knowledge of Baptism is particularly necessary to 
the faithful, an attentive perusal of the epistles of S. Paul, will 
force upon the mind. The Apostle, not only frequently, but 
also in language the most energetic, in language full of the 
Spirit of God, renews the recollection of this mystery, exalts its 
transcendant dignity, and in it places before us the death, bu- 
rial, and resurrection of our Lord, as objects of our contem- 
plation and imitation. (1) The pastor, therefore, can never 
think that he has bestowed sufficient labour and attention on 

(1) Rom. vi. 3. Colos. ii. 12, 13. 



f"~ "^ THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 149 

the exposition of this Sacrament. Besides the great festivals 
of Easter and Pentecost, festivals on which the Church cele- 
brated this Sacrament with the greatest solemnity and devo- 
tion, and on which particularly, according to ancient practice, 
its divine mysteries are to be explained ; the pastor should, 
also, take occasion, at other times, to make it the subject mat- 
ter of his instructions. (2) 

For this purpose, a most convenient opportunity would seem When 
to present itself, whenever the pastor, when about to adminis- ve niently' 
ter this Sacrament, finds himself surrounded by a considerable ex P lained 
number of the faithful : on such occasions, it is true, his expo- 
sition cannot embrace every thing that regards baptism ; but he 
can develope one or two points with greater facility, whilst 
the faithful see them expressed, and contemplate them with 
devout attention, in the sacred ceremonies which he is perform- 
ing. Thus each person, reading a lesson of admonition in the 
person of him who is receiving baptism, calls to mind the pro- 
mises by which he had bound himself to the service of God 
when initiated by baptism, and reflects whether his life and 
morals evince that fidelity to which every one pledges himself, 
by professing the name of Christian. 

To render what we have to say, on this subject, perspicuous, Meaning 
we shall explain the nature and substance of the Sacrament; 'Baptism.' 
premising, however, an explication of the word Baptism. — 
The word Baptism, as is well known, is of Greek derivation. 
Although used in Scripture to express not only that ablution 
which forms part of the Sacrament, but also every species of 
ablution, (3) and sometimes, figuratively, to express sufferings ; 
yet it is employed, by ecclesiastical writers, to designate not 
every sort of ablution, but that which forms part of the Sacra- 
ment, and is administered with the prescribed sacramental 
form. In this sense, the Apostles very frequently make use of 
the word, in accordance with the institution of Christ. (4) 

This Sacrament the Holy Fathers designate also by other other 
names. S. Augustine informs us that it was sometimes names of - 

(2) De hoc. usu antiquo vid. Tertul. lib. de Baptis. c. 19. Basil, in exhort, ad 
bapt. Amb. lib. de myst. Paschse. (3) Mark, vii. 4. 

(4) Rom. vi. 3. 1 Pet. iii. 21. Octo baptismi genera vid. Damasc. lib. 4. 
defideorthod. 10. 



150 THE CATECHISM OF 

called the Sacrament of Faith; because, by receiving it, we 
profess our faith in all the doctrines of Christianity : (5) by 
others it was denominated "Illumination," because by the faith 
which we profess in baptism, the heart is illumined : " Call to 
" mind," says the Apostle, alluding to the time of baptism, 
" the former days, wherein being illumined, you endured a 
" great fight of afflictions." 6) S. Chrysostom, in his sermon 
to the baptised, calls it a purgation, through w lich " we purge 
" away the old leaven, that we may become a new paste:" he, 
also, calls it a burial, a planting, and the cross of Jesus Christ: 
(8) the reasons for all these appellations may be gathered from 
the epistle of S. Paul to the Romans. (9) S. Dennis calls it 
the beginning of the most holy commandments, for this ob- 
vious reason, that baptism is, as it were, the gate through 
which we enter into the fellowship of Christian life, and be- 
gin, thenceforward, to obey the commandments. (10) This 
exposition of the different names of the sacrament of baptism, 
the pastor will briefly communicate to the people. (11) 
Definition With regard to its definition, although sacred writers give 
of - many, to us that which may be collected from the words of 

our Lord, recorded in the Gospel of S. John, and of the Apos- 
tle, in his epistle to the Ephesians, appears the most appro- 
priate: " Unless," says our Lord, " a man be born again of 
"water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
"of God;" (12) and, speaking of the Church, the Apostle 
says: " cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of 
" life." (13) From these words, Baptism may be accurately 
and appropriately defined: "The Sacrament of regeneration 
" by water in the word." By nature, we are born from Adam, 
children of wrath; but by baptism we are regenerated in 
Christ, Children of mercy : for, " He gave power to men to 
" be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name, 
" who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of 
" the will of man, but of God." (14) 

(5) D. Aug. epist. 25, in fin. (6) Heb. x. 32. (7) 1 Cor. v. 7. 

(8) S. Chrysost. x. 5. (9) Rom. vi. 3. (10) S. Dion, de Eccl. Hier. c. 2. 
(11) De variis baptis. nom. vid. Gregor. Nazianz. orat. in sancta lumina, et 
Clem. Alex. lib. 1. Poedag. cap. 6. (12) John, iii. 5. 

(13)E P h. v. 26. (14) John, i. 12, IS. 



X 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 151 

But, define Baptism as we may, the faithful are to be inform- 1" what 

' . i , , . . -, the Sacra- 

ed that this sacrament consists of ablution, accompanied, neces- me nt con- 
sarily, according to the institution of our Lord, by certain so- slsts ' 
lemn words. (15) This is the uniform doctrine of the Holy 
Fathers ; a doctrine proved by the authority of S. Augustine : 
" The word," says he, " is joined to the element, and it be- 
" comes a Sacrament." That these are the constituents of Bap- 
tism, it becomes more necessary to impress on the minds of 
the faithful, that they may not fall into the vulgar error of 
thinking, that the baptismal water, preserved in the sacred 
font, constitutes the Sacrament. Then only is it to be called 
the Sacrament of Baptism, when it is really used in the way 
of ablution, accompanied with the words appointed by our 
Lord. (16) 

But, as we first said, when treating of the Sacraments in Its matter, 
general, that every Sacrament consists of matter and form ; it 
is, therefore, necessary to point out what constitutes each of 
these in the Sacrament of Baptism. The matter then, or ele- 
ment of this Sacrament, is any sort of natural water, which is, 
simply, and without addition of any -kind, commonly called 
water: be it sea-water, river-water, water from a pond, well, 
or fountain: our Lord has declared that, "Unless a man be 
" born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter in- 
" to the kingdom of God." (17) The Apostle also says, that 
the Church was cleansed "by the laver of water ;" (18) and in 
the epistle of S. John, we read these words : " There are three 
" that give testimony on earth ; the spirit, and the water, and 
" the blood." (19) The Scripture affords other proofs which 
establish the same proof. When, however, the Baptist says 
that the Lord will come, " who Avill baptise in the Holy Ghost, 
" and in fire ;" (20) he is not to be understood to speak of the 
matter, but of the effect of baptism, produced in the soul by 
the interior operation of the Holy Ghost ; or, if not, of the mi- 
racle performed on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy 
Ghost descended on the Apostles, in the form of fire, (21) as 

(15) Matth. xxviii. 19. 

( 16) Hac de re vid. Chrysost. hom. 24. in Joan. Aug. lib. 6. contra. Donatist. 
c. 25. Cone. Florent. et Trid. item August, tract. 80, in Joan. 

(17) John, iii. 5. (18) Eph. v. 26. (19) 1 John, v. 8. 
(20) Matth. iii. 11. (21) Acts, ii. 3. 




152 THE CATECHISM OF 

was foretold by our Lord, in these words: "John, indeed, 
" baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy 
" Ghost, not many days hence." (22 ) 
Figure and The water is the matter of Baptism, the Almighty signi- 
f. fied both by figures and by prophesies, as we know from holy 

Scripture : According to the prince of the Apostles, in his first 
epistle, the deluge which swept the world, because "the wick- 
" edness of men was great on the earth, and all the thoughts of 
" their hearts were bent upon evil," (23) was a figure of the 
waters of Baptism. (24) To omit the cleansing of Naaman 
the Syrian, (25) and the admirable virtue of the pool of Beth- 
saida, (26) and many similar types, manifestly symbolic of this 
mystery ; the passage through the red sea, according to S. 
Paul, in his epistle to the Corinthians, was typical of the wa- 
ters of Baptism. (27) With regard to the oracles of the pro- 
phets, the waters to which the prophet Isaias so freely invites 
all that thirst, (28) and those which Ezekiel saw in spirit, is- 
sue from the temple, (29) and also, " the fountain" which 
Zachary foresaw, " open to the house of David, and to the in- 
" habitants of Jerusalem, for the washing of the sinner and of 
" the unclean woman," (30) were, no doubt, so many types 
which prefigured the salutary effects of the waters of Baptism. 
Waicr, The propriety of constituting water the matter of baptism, 

matter of of the nature and efficacy of which it is at once expressive, S. 
baptism. j erome) i n his epistle to Oceanus, proves by many arguments. 
(31) Upon this subject, however, the pastor will teach, that 
water, which is always at hand and within the reach of all, 
was the fittest matter of a Sacrament which is essentially ne- 
cessary to all ; and, also, that water is best adapted to signi- 
fy the effect of baptism. It washes away uncleanness, and is, 
therefore, strikingly illustrative of the virtue and efficacy of 
baptism, which washes away the stains of sin. We may also 
add that, like water which cools the body, baptism in a great 
measure extinguishes the fire of concupiscence in the soul. (32) 

(22) Acts, i. 5. (23) Gen. vi. 5. (24) 1 Pet. Hi. 20, 21. 

(25) 4 Kings, v. 14. (26) John, v. 2. (27) 1 Cor. x. 1, 2. 

(28) Tsaia, Iv. 1. (29) Ezek. xlvii. 1. (30) Zach. xiii. 1. 

(31) D- Hieronymus epist. 85. 

(32) De materia bapt. vid. Cone. Florent. et Trid. sess. 7, can. 2, & de con- 
secrat. dist. 4. item D. Thorn, p. 3, q. 56, art. 5. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 1 53 

But, although, in case of necessity, simple water unmixed Chrism, 
with any other ingredient, is sufficient for the matter of bap- i n baptism. 
tism ; yet, when administered in public with solemn ceremo- 
nies, the Catholic Church guided by apostolic tradition, the 
more fully to express its efficacy, has uniformly observed the 
practice of adding holy chrism. (33) And, although it may be 
doubted whether this or that water be genuine, such as the Sa- 
crament requires, it can never be matter of doubt that the pro- 
per and the only matter of baptism is natural water. 

Having carefully explained the matter, which is one of the Form of 
two parts of which the Sacrament consists, the pastor will be P careful- 
evince equal diligence in explaining the second, that is the J y ex P lain * 
form, which is equally necessary with the first. In the expli- 
cation of this Sacrament, a necessity of increased care and 
study arises, as the pastor will perceive, from the circumstance 
that the knowledge of so holy a mystery, is not only in itself a 
source of pleasure to the faithful, as is generally the case with 
regard to religious knowledge, but, also, very desirable for al- 
most daily practical use. This Sacrament, as we shall explain 
in its proper place, is frequently administered by the laity, and 
most frequently, by women ; and it, therefore, becomes neces- 
sary to make all the faithful indiscriminately, well acquainted 
with whatever regards its substance. 

The pastor, therefore, will teach, in clear, unambiguous Ian- in what it 
guage intelligible to every capacity, that the true and essential ^nlTwhen 
form of baptism is : " I baptise thee in the name of the instituted. 
"Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" a 
form delivered by our Lord and Saviour when, as we read in 
S. Matthew, he gave to his Apostles the command : " Going 
" teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, 
" and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (34) By the word 
" baptising," the Catholic Church, instructed from above, most 
justly understands that the form of the Sacrament should ex- 
press the action of the minister, and this takes place when he 
pronounces the words : " I baptise thee." Besides the minis- 
ter of the Sacrament, the person to be baptised and the prin- 

(33) Ambr. lib. 1, sacr. c. 2. et Innoc. lib. 1. deer. tit. 1. c. 5. 

(34) Matth. xxviii. 19. 

20 



154 THE CATECHISM OF 

cipal efficient cause of baptism should be mentioned. The 
pronoun " thee," and the names of the Divine Persons are, 
therefore, distinctly added ; and, thus, the absolute form of the 
Sacrament is expressed in the words already mentioned : " I 
" baptise thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
" of the Holy Ghost." Baptism is the work not of the Son 
alone, of whom S. John says : " This is he who baptiseth ;" 
(35) but of the three Persons of the blessed Trinity. By say- 
ing, however, " in the name," not names, we distinctly declare 
that in the Trinity there is but one nature and Godhead. The 
word " name" is here referred not to the persons, but to the 
divine essence, virtue and power, which are one and the same 
in the three Persons. (36) 
What es- It is however to be observed, that of the words contained 
what not in this form, which we have shown to be the true and essen- 
essential, ^ a j one ^ some are absolutely necessary, the omission of them 
rendering the valid administration of the Sacrament impossi- 
ble ; whilst others, on the contrary, are not so essential as to 
affect its validity. Of the latter kind is, in the Latin form, the 
word " ego," (I) the force of which is included in the word 
" baptizo," (I baptise) — Nay more, the Greek Church, adopt- 
ing a different manner of expressing the form, and being of 
opinion that it is unnecessary to make mention of the minister, 
omits the pronoun altogether. The form universally used in 
the Greek Church is : " Let this servant of Christ be baptised 
" in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
" Ghost." It appears, however, from the opinion and defini- 
tion of the Council of Florence, that the Greek form is valid, 
because the words of which it consists, sufficiently express 
what is essential to the validity of baptism, that is, the ablu- 
tion which then takes place. 
Baptism in ^ a * an ) T ^ me the Apostles baptised in the name of the 

the name L or d Jesus Christ only, (37) they did so, no doubt, bv the in- 

of Christ , - . . 

only. spiration of the Holy Ghost, in order, in the infancy of the 
Church, to render their preaching in the name of the Lord Je- 
sus Christ more illustrious, and to proclaim more effectually 

(35) John, i. 33. 

(36) Vid. Aug. contra Donatist. lib. 6, c. 25. D. Thorn, p. 3, q. 66. art. 5. 
(31) Acts, ii. 38, & viii. 16, & x. 48, & xix. 5. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 155 

his divine and infinite power. If, however, we examine the 
matter more closely, we shall find that the Greek form omits 
nothing which the Saviour himself commands to be observed; 
for the name of Jesus Christ implies the Person of the Father 
by whom, and that of the Holy Ghost in whom he was anoint- 
ed. However, the use of this form by the Apostles becomes, 
perhaps, matter of doubt, if we yield to the opinions of Am- 
brose (38) and Basil, (39) Holy fathers eminent for sanctity 
and of paramount authority, who interpret " baptism in the 
" name of Jesus Christ" as contradistinguished to " baptism in 
" the name of John," and who say that the Apostles did not 
depart from the ordinary and usual form which comprises the 
distinct names of the three Persons. Paul, also, in his epistle 
to the Galatians, seems to have expressed himself in a similar 
manner: u As many of you," says he, " as have been baptised 
" in Christ, have put on Christ:" (40) meaning that they were 
baptised in the faith of Christ, and with no other form than 
that commanded by him to be observed. 

What has been said on the principal points which regard the Baptism 
matter and form of the Sacrament will be found sufficient for ™^j st e e r e d 
the instruction of the faithful; but, as in the administration of b 7 ™ mer - 
the Sacrament, the legitimate ablution should also be observ- sioi^oras- 
ed, on this point too the pastor will explain the doctrine of the P ersion - 
Church. He will briefly inform the faithful that, according to 
the common practice of the Church, baptism may be adminis- 
tered by immersion, infusion, or aspersion ; and that adminis- 
tered in either of these forms it is equally valid. In baptism 
water is used to signify the spiritual ablution which it accom- 
plishes, and on this account baptism is called by the Apostles, 
a "laver."(41) This ablution takes place as effectually by 
immersion, which was for a considerable time the practice in 
the early ages of the Church, as by infusion, which is now the 
general practice, or by aspersion, which was the manner in 
which Peter baptised, when he converted and gave baptism to 
" about three thousand souls." (42) It is also matter of indif- 
ference to the validity of the Sacrament, whether the ablution 

(38) Ambr. lib. 1. de Spiritu Sancto, c. 3. 

(39) Basil, lib. 1. de Spiritu Sancto, c. 12. 

(40) Gal. iii. 27. (41) Eph. v. 26. (41) Acts, ii. 41. 



156 THE CATECHISM OF 

( 

is performed once or thrice ; we learn from the epistle of S . 
Gregory the Great to Leander, that baptism was formerly, and 
may still be validly administered in the Church in either way. 
(43) The faithful, however, will follow the practice of the 
particular Church to which they belong. 
Two im- The pastor will be particularly careful to observe that the 
matters to baptismal ablution is not to be applied indifferently to any 
be observ- p ar j- f ^g body, but principally to the head, which is pre- 
adminis- eminently the seat of all the internal and external senses: and 
also that ,he who baptises is to pronounce the words which 
constitute the form of baptism, not before or after, but when 
performing the ablution. 
Baptism, When these things have been explained, it will also be ex- 
■tituted!" pedient to remind the faithful that, in common with the other 
Sacraments, baptism was instituted by Christ. On this sub- 
ject, the pastor will frequently point out two different periods 
of time which relate to baptism — the one the period of its in- 
stitution by the Redeemer — the other, of the establishment of 
the law which renders it obligatory. With regard to the form- 
er, it is clear that this Sacrament was instituted by our Lord, 
when, being baptised by John, he gave to the water the pow- 
er of sanctifying. S. Gregory Nazianzen (44) and S. Augus- 
tine testify that to the water was then imparted the power of 
regenerating to spiritual life. In another place S. Augustine 
says : " From the moment that Christ is immersed in water, 
"water washes away all sins:" (45) and again, "the Lord is 
"baptised, not because he had occasion to be cleansed, but by 
" the contact of his pure flesh to purify the waters, and impart 
" to them the power of cleansing." The circumstances which 
attended the event afford a very strong argument to prove that 
baptism was then instituted by our Lord. The three persons 
of the most Holy Trinity, in whose name baptism is confer- 
red, manifest their august presence — the voice of the Father is 
heard — the Person of the Son is present — the Holy Ghost de- 
scends in form of a dove — and the heavens, into which we are 
enabled to enter by baptism, are thrown open. (46) 

(43) Greg. 1. i. regist. epist. 41. (44) Greg. orat. in nat. Salvat. circa finem. 

(45) Aug. serm. 29, 36, et 37. de temp. 

(46) Matth. Hi. 16, 17. Mark, i. 10, 11. Luke, ii. 21, 22. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 157 

Should we, however, ask how our Lord has endowed water Water 
with a virtue so great, so divine; this indeed is an enquiry e d to- the 
which transcends the power of the human understanding. That ^°^^ 
when our Lord was baptised, water was consecrated to the Christ was 
salutary use of baptism, deriving, although instituted before the ap 1S£ 
passion, all its virtue and efficacy from the passion, which is 
the consummation, as it were, of all the actions of Christ — 
this, indeed, we sufficiently comprehend. (47) 

The second period to be distinguished, that is, when the law The lawof 

baptism, 

of baptism was promulgated, also admits of no doubt. The when pro- 
Holy Fathers are unanimous in saying, that after the resurrec- mul s ated - 
tion of our Lord, when he gave to his Apostles the command : 
" Go, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the 
"Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" (48) the 
law of baptism became obligatory, on all, who were to be sav- 
ed. This is to be inferred from these words of S. Peter: 
" who hath regenerated us unto a lively hope, by the resurrec- 
" tion of Jesus Christ from the dead ;" (49) and also from the 
words of S. Paul : " He delivered himself up for it :" (he speaks 
of the Church) " that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the 
" laver of water in the word of life." (50) In both passages, 
the obligation of baptism is referred to the time, which follow- 
ed the death of our Lord. These words of our Lord : " Un- 
" less a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he 
" cannot enter into the kingdom of God," (51) refer also, no 
doubt, to the time subsequent to his passion. If then the pas- 
tor use all diligence in explaining these truths accurately to the 
faithful, impossible that they should not fully appreciate the high 
dignity of this Sacrament, and entertain towards it the most 
profound veneration ; a veneration which will be heightened 
by the reflection, that the Holy Ghost, by his invisible agen- 
cy, still infuses into the heart, at the moment of baptism, those 
blessings of incomparable excellence, and of inestimable value, 
which were so strikingly manifested, by miracles, at the bap- 
tism of Chrst our Lord. Were our eyes, like those of the ser- 
vant of Eliseus, (52) opened to see these heavenly things, who 

(41) Vid. Hieron. in com. in 3. cap. Ma.tth. Aug. serm. 36, de temp. 
(48) Mark, xvi. 15. Matth. xxviii. 19. (49) 1 Pet. i. 3. 

(50) Eph. v. 25, 26. (51) John, iii. 5. (52) 4 Kings, vi. 17. 



158 THE CATECHISM OF 

so insensible as not to be lost in rapturous admiration of the 
divine mysteries, which baptism would then present to the as- 
tonished view ! when, therefore, the riches of this Sacrament 
are unfolded to the faithful by the pastor, so as to enable them 
to behold them, if not with the eyes of the body, with those of 
the soul illumined with the light of faith, is it not reasonable to 
anticipate similar results ? 
The minis- In the next place, it appears not only expedient but necessa- 
Sacrament Tj to sa y w ^° are mm i sters °f this Sacrament ; in order that 
those to whom this office is specially confided, may study to 
perform its functions, religiously and holily ; and that no one, 
outstepping, as it were, his proper limits, may unseasonably 
take possession of, or arrogantly assume, what belongs to ano- 
ther ; for, as the Apostle teaches, order is to be observed in all 
things. (53) 
Bishops The faithful, therefore, are to be informed that of those who 
byriehutf administer baptism there are three gradations: bishops and 
office: priests hold the first place ; to them belongs the administration 
of this Sacrament, not by any extraordinary concession of pow- 
er, but by right of office ; for to them, in the persons of the 
Apostles, was addressed the command : " Go, baptise." (54) 
Bishops, it is true, not to neglect the more weighty charge of 
instructing the faithful, generally leave its administration to 
priests ; but the authority of the Fathers, (55) and the usage of 
the Church, prove that priests exercise this function of the 
ministry by a right inherent in the priestly order, a right which 
authorises them to baptise even in presence of the bishop. Or- 
dained to consecrate the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of peace 
and unity, (56) it is necessary that they be invested with power 
to administer all those things, which are required to enable 
others to participate of that peace and unity. If, therefore, 
the Fathers have at any time said, that without the leave of the 
bishop, the priest has not power to baptise ; they are to be 
understood to speak of that baptism only, which was adminis- 
tered on certain days of the year with solemn ceremonies. 

(53) 1 Cor. xiv. 40. (54) Matth. xxviii. 19. 

(65) Isid. lib. 2, de offic. Eccles. cap. 4. (56) 1 Cor. x. 17. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 159 

Next to bishops and priests, are deacons, for whom, as numer- Deacons 
ous decrees of the holy Fathers attest, it is not lawful, without s i n. 
the permission of the bishop or priest to administer baptism. (57) 

Those who may administer baptism, in case of necessity, All persdhs 
but without its solemn ceremonies, hold the third and last necessity ; 
place ; and in this class are included all, even the laity, men ^ ftfsd. 
and women, to whatever sect they may belong. This power emn cere- 
extends, in case of necessity, even to Jews, infidels, and here- 
tics ; provided, however, they intend to do what the Catholic 
Church does in that act of her ministry. Already established 
by the decrees of the ancient Fathers and Councils, these things 
have been again confirmed by the Council of Trent, which de- 
nounces anathema against those who presume to say " that bap- 
" tism, even when administered by heretics, in the name of the 
" Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with the in- 
" tention of doing what the Church does, is not true baptism." 
(58) 

And here let us admire the supreme goodness and wisdom of In this, the 

our Lord, who, seeing the necessity of this Sacrament for all, w^don-Tof 

not only instituted water, than which nothing can be more com- God to be 
. ... . . admired. 

mon, as its matter ; but also placed its administration within 
the jurisdiction of all. In its administration, however, as we 
have already observed, all are not allowed to use the solemn 
ceremonies: not that rites and ceremonies are of higher dignity, 
but because they are of inferior necessity to the Sacrament. 

Let not the faithful, however, imagine that this office is giv- 0rder t0 

"be observ- 
en promiscuously to all, so as to supersede the propriety of ob- ed by the 

serving a certain order amongst those who administer baptism : baptism. 
when a man is present, a woman, when a clerk, a layman ; when 
a priest, a simple clerk, should not administer this Sacrament. 
Midwives, however, when accustomed to its administration, 
are not to be found fault with, if sometimes, when a man is 
present, who is unacquainted with the manner of its adminis- 
tration, they perform what may otherwise appear to belong 
more properly to men. 

(57) Distinct. 93, cap. 13. 

(58) Trid. sess. 7, can. de consec. dist. 4, cap. 24. Aug. lib. 7. contra Dona- 
tist. cap. 51, et ibid. lib. 3, cap. 10, et lib. 2, contra Parmen. et Concil Lat. cap. 
1, et Cone. Florent. in deer. Eugenii. 



160 THE CATECHISM OF 

Sponsors, To those who, as we have hitherto explained, administer 
institution, baptism, another class of persons is to be added, who, accord- 
^ y d instl " ing to the most ancient practice of the Church, assist at the 
baptismal font ; and, who, although formerly called by sacred 
writers by the common name of sponsors or sureties, are now 
called God-fathers and God-mothers. (59) As this is an office 
common almost to all the laity, the pastor will teach its princi- 
pal duties, with care and accuracy. He will, in the first in- 
stance, explain why, at baptism, besides those who administer 
the Sacrament, God-fathers and God-mothers are also requir- 
ed. The propriety of the practice will at once appear, if we 
keep in view the nature of baptism, that it is a spiritual regen- 
eration, by which we are born children of God ; of which S. 
Peter says : " As newborn infants desire the rational milk with- 
" out guile." (60) As, therefore, every one, after his birth, 
requires a nurse and instructor, by whose assistance and as- 
siduity he is brought up, and formed to learning and morality ; 
so those, who, by the efficacy of the regenerating waters of 
baptism, are born to spiritual life, should be intrusted to the 
fidelity and prudence of some one, from whom they may im- 
bibe the precepts of the Christian religion, and the spirit of 
Christian piety ; and thus grow up gradually in Christ, until, 
with the divine assistance, they at length arrive at the full 
growth of perfect manhood. This necessity must appear still 
more imperious, if we recollect, that the pastor, who is 
charged with the public care of his parish, has not sufficient 
time to undertake the private instruction of children in the ru- 
diments of faith. For this very ancient practice, we have this 
illustrious testimony of S. Denis : " It occurred," says he, " to 
" our divine leaders," (so he calls the Apostles,) " and they in 
"their wisdom ordained, that infants should be introduced into 
" the Church, in this holy manner — that their natural parents 
" should deliver them to the care of some one well skilled in 
" divine things, as to a master under whom, as a spiritual fa- 
" ther and guardian of his salvation in holiness, the child may 

(59) Tert. 1. de bapt, c. 18, et de coron. milit. cap. 3. 

(60) 1 Pet. ii. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 161 

"lead the remainder of his life." (61) The same doctrine is 

confirmed by the authority of Higinus. (62) 

The Church, therefore, in her wisdom, has ordained that ^JjjJlJJod 

not only the person who baptises, contracts a spiritual affini- in baptism, 
. , , , • i i , ,i -,i .i what and 

ty with the person baptised, but also the sponsor with the between 
God-child and its parents; so that marriage cannot be lawfully whom - 
contracted by them, and if contracted, it is null and void. 

The faithful are also to be taught the duty of sponsors ; for Duties of 

. Sponsors. 

such is the negligence with which the office of sponsor is treat- 
ed in the Church, that its name only remains ; whilst few, if 
any, have the least idea of its sanctity. Let all sponsors then, 
at all times recollect that they are strictly bound to exercise 
a constant vigilance over their spiritual children, and careful- 
ly to instruct them in the maxims of a Christian life ; that they 
may approve themselves through life, such as their sponsors 
promised they should be, by the solemn ceremony of becom- 
ing sponsors. On this subject, the words of S. Denis demand 
attention : Speaking in the person of the sponsor, he says : 
" I promise, by my constant exhortations to induce this child, 
" when he comes to a knowledge of religion, to renounce eve- 
" ry thing opposed to his Christian calling, and to profess and 
" perform the sacred promises, which he made at the baptism- 
" al font." (63) S. Augustine also says : " I most earnestly 
" admonish you, men and women, who have become sponsors, 
" to consider that you stood as sureties before God, for those 
t( whose sponsors you have undertaken to become." (64) And, 
indeed, it is the paramount duty of every man, who undertakes 
any office, to be indefatigable in the discharge of the duties 
which it imposes ; and he, who solemnly professed to be the 
teacher and guardian of another, should not abandon to desti- 
tution him whom he once received under his care and protec- 
tion as long as he should have occasion for either. Speaking 
of the duties of sponsors, S. Augustine comprises, in a kw 
words, the lessons of instruction which they are bound to in- 
culcate upon the minds of their spiritual children : " They 

(61) Dionys. de Eccl. Hier. c. 7. parte 3. 

(62) Habetur de consec. dist. 5, cap. 100, et Leo pp. ib. c. 101, et Cone. 
Mogunt. ib. cap. 101, et 30. q. 1. 

(63) Loco sup. cit. (64) D. Aug. serm. 163, de temp, etser. 215. 

21 



162 THE CATECHISM OF 

"ought," says he, "to admonish them to observe chastity, 
"love justice, cherish charity; and, above all, they should 
" teach them the Creed, the Lord's prayer, the ten command- 
" ments, and the rudiments of the Christian religion." (6.5) 
Who are Hence, it is not difficult to decide, who are inadmissible as 

inadmisfi- mi i -n- i- i • i 

ble as sponsors. 1 o those, who are unwilling to discharge its du- 
Sponsors. ^ es w j tn fiddrtyj or who cannot do so with care and accuracy, 
this sacred trust, no doubt, should not be confided. Besides, 
therefore, the natural parents, who, to mark the great differ- 
ence that exists between this spiritual and the carnal bringing 
up of youth, are not permitted to undertake this charge, here- 
tics, Jews particularly, and infidels, are on no account to be 
admitted to the office of sponsor. The thoughts and cares of 
these enemies of the Catholic Church are, continually, em- 
ployed in darkening, by falsehood, the true faith, and subvert- 
ing all Christian piety. (66) 

Number of The number of sponsors is also limited by the Council of 
Sponsors. 

Trent, to one male or female ; or at most, to one male and one 
female ; because a number of teachers may confuse the order 
of discipline and instruction ; and also to prevent the multipli- 
cation of affinities, which must impede a wider diffusion of so- 
ciety by means of lawful marriage. (67) 
The law of If the knowledge of what has been hitherto explained, be, 
extends to as it is, of importance to the faithful, it is no less important to 
**'■ them to know, that the law of baptism, as established by our 

Lord, extends to all, in so much, that unless they are regener- 
ated through the grace of baptism, be their parents, Christians 
or infidels, they are born to eternal misery and everlasting des- 
truction. The duty of the pastor, therefore, demands of him 
a frequent exposition of these words of the Gospel : " Unless 
" a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he can- 
" not enter into the kingdom of God." (68) 
Infant That tn j s ] aw extends, not only to adults, but also to infants, 

proved, and that the Church has received this its interpretation from 

(65) Serm. 165, de temp, de cons. dist. 4. c. 120. 

(66) 30. q. 1 cap. I D. Thorn, p. 3, q. 61, art. 8. ad 2. ex Mogunt. Concil. de 
consec. dist. 4, cap. IQ2. 

(6T) De cone. dist. 4. c. 101. et Concil. Trid. sess. 14, c. 10, de refor. Matrim. 

(68) John, iii. 5. De his vide Clem. pp. epist. 4. in med. Aug. in Joan, tract. 
19. et de Eccles. dogm. cap. 24. Amb. de iis qui myst. initiantur, c. 4. Concil. 
Lateran, c. 1. Trid. sess. 1. can. 51. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 163 

Apostolic tradition, is confirmed by the authority and strength- 
ened by the concurrent testimony of the Fathers. Besides, it n - 
is not to be supposed, that Christ our Lord, would have with- 
held the sacrament of baptism, "and the grace which it imparts 
from children, of whom he said: "Suffer the little children, 
" and stay them not from coming unto me ; for the kingdom of 
"heaven is for such" (69) — from children whom he embraced 
— upon whom he imposed hands — whom he blessed. (70) 
Moreover, when we read that an"entire family was baptised by 
S- Paul, (71) children, who are included in their number, must, 
it is obvious, have also been cleansed in the purifying waters 
of baptism. Circumcision, too, which was a figure of baptism, IV. 
affords a strong argument in proof of this primitive practice. 
That children were circumcised "on the eighth day is universal- 
ly known. (72) If, then, circumcision, u made by hand, in des- 
" poiling of the body of the flesh," (73) was profitable to chil- 
dren, shall not baptism, which is the circumcision of Christ, 
not " made by hand," be also profitable to them ? Finally, to v. 
use the words of the Apostle, " if by one man's offence, death 
" reigned through one ; much more they, who received abun- 
" dance of grace, and of the gift, and of justice, shall reign in 
" life through one, Jesus Christ." (74) If, then, through the 
transgression of Adam, children inherit the stain of primeval 
guilt, is there not still stronger reason to conclude, that the 
efficacious merits of Christ the Lord must impart to them that 
justice°and those graces, which "will give them a title to reign 
in eternal life ? This happy consummation baptism alone can 
accomplish. (75) The pastor, therefore, will inculcate the Moral re- 
absolute necessity of administering baptism to infants, and of flection - 
gradually forming their tender minds to piety, by Christian 
precept; according to these admirable words of the Wiseman : 
" A young man according to his way, even when he is old, he 
" will not depart from it." (76) 

(69) Matth. xix. 14. (70) Mark, x. 16. (71) 1 Cor. i. 16. Acts. xvi. 33. 

(72) Gen. xxi. 4. Lev. xii. 3. Luke, i. 59, & ii. 21. 

(73) Coloss. ii. 11. (74; Rom. v. 17. 

10 iV C ° nC ' Trid ' sess ' 5 ' decret - de peccato Origin, et sess. 7. de baptism, cap. 
12, 13 14. Dionys. de Eccles. Hier. cap. 7. Cyprian, ep. 59. Aug. epist. 28. et 
lib. 1. depeccat. merit, c. 23. Chrys. hom. de Adamo et Eva. Cone. Milevit. c. 
2. et de consec dist. 4. passim. 
(76) Prov. xxii. 6. 






164 THE CATECHISM OF 

Faith, how That when baptised they receive the mysterious gifts of 
to infants faith cannot be matter of doubt ; not that they believe by the 
mbaptism. f orma ] assen t of the mind, but because their incapacity is sup- 
plied by the faith of their parents, if the parents profess the 
true faith, if not, (to use the words of S. Augustine) " by that 
" of the universal society of the saints ;" (77 ) for they are said 
with propriety to be presented for baptism by all those, to 
whom their initiation in that sacred rite was a source of joy, 
and by whose charity they are united to the communion of the 
Holy Ghost. 
Children r^he faithful are earnestly to be exhorted, to take care that 

to be bap- J 

tised with their children be brought to the church, as soon as it can be 
\l y'l/pogl done with safety, to receive solemn baptism: infants, unless 
sible. baptised, cannot enter heaven, and hence we may well. con- 
ceive how deep the enormity of their guilt, who, through neg- 
ligence, suffer them to remain without the grace of the sacra- 
ment, longer than necessity may require; particularly at an 
age so tender as to be exposed to numberless dangers of death. 
Adults to (78) With regard to adults who enjoy the perfect use of rea- 
& prepared son ' P ersons > for instance, born of infidel parents, the practice of 
to receive the primitive Church points out a different manner of proceed- 

baptism. 

I. ing: to them the Christian faith is to be proposed; and they 
are earnestly to be exhorted, allured and invited to embrace it. 

IL If converted to the Lord God, they are then to be admonished 
not to defer baptism beyond the time prescribed by the Church : 
it is written, " delay not to be converted to the Lord, and de- 
"fer it not from day to day ;" (79) and they are to be taught, 
that in their regard perfect conversion consists in regeneration 

III. by baptism. Besides, the longer they defer baptism, the lon- 
ger are they deprived of the use and graces of the other Sa- 
craments, which fortify in the practice of the Christian religion, 

IV - and which are accessible through baptism only. They are al- 
so deprived of the inestimable graces of baptism, the salutary 
waters of which not only wash away all the stains of past sins, 
but also enrich the soul with divine grace, which enables the 
Christian to avoid sin for the future, and preserve the invalua- 

(77) Ep. 28 ad Bon. 

(78) Aug. lib. 3. de orig. anirn. c. 9. et lib. 1. de pecc. merit, c. 2, etep. 28. 

(79) Eccl. v. 8. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 165 

ble treasures of righteousness and innocence : effects which, 
confessedly, constitute a perfect epitome of a Christian life. 
(80) 

On this class of persons, however, the Church does not con- Baptism of 
fer this Sacrament hastily : she will have it deferred for a cer- deferred. y 
tain time ; nor is the delay attended with the same danger, as *■ 
in the case of infants, which we have already mentioned : and 
should any unforeseen accident deprive adults of baptism, their 
intention of receiving it, and their repentance for past sins, will 
avail them to grace and righteousness. Nay, this delay seems II. 
to be attended with some advantages. — The Church must take 
particular care, that none approach this Sacrament, whose 
hearts are vitiated by hypocrisy and dissimulation; and, by the 
intervention of some delay, the intentions of such as solicit bap- 
tism, are better ascertained. In this wise precaution originated 
a decree, passed by the ancient councils, the purport of which 
was, that Jewish converts, before admission to baptism, should 
spend some months in the ranks of the Catechumens. The can- III. 
didate for baptism is, also, thus better instructed in the faith 
which he is to profess, and in the morality which he is to prac- 
tice ; and the Sacrament, when administered with solemn cere- iv. 
monies, on the appointed days of Easter and Pentecost only, 
is treated with more religious respect. 

Sometimes, however, when there exists a just cause to ex- When not 
elude delay, as in the case of imminent danger of death, its ad- f° r be d de ~ 
ministration is not to be deferred; particularly, if the person to 
be baptised is well instructed in the mysteries of faith. This, 
we find, to have been done by Philip, and by the prince of the 
Apostles, when, without the intervention of any delay, the one 
baptised the Eunuch of Queen Candaces, the other, Cornelius, 
as soon as they professed a willingness to embrace the faith of 
Christ. (81) The faithful are, also, to be instructed in the ne- 
cessary dispositions for baptism, that, in the first place, they 
must desire and propose to receive it ; for, as in baptism we 
die to sin and engage to live a new life, it is fit that it be ad- 
ministered to those, only, who receive it of their own free will 

(80) Tertul. lib. de paenit. cap. 6. et de prcescript. cap. 41. Cypr. epist. 13. de 
consec. dist. 4. c. 64. et 65. Aug. lib. de fide et operib. c. 9. 
(SI) Acts, viii. 38. & x. 48. 



] 66 THE CATECHISM OF 

and accord, and is to be forced upon none. Hence, we learn 
from holy tradition, that it has been the invariable practice of 
the Church, to administer baptism to no individual, without pre- 
viously asking him if he be willing to receive it. (82) This 
disposition even infants are presumed not to want — the will of 
the Church, when answering for them, is declared in the most 
explicit terms. 

Insane persons, who are favoured with lucid intervals, and 

Insane per- r J _ 

sons, when during these lucid intervals, express no wish to be baptised, are 
tised, an P d not to be admitted to baptism, unless in extreme cases when 
when not. <j eat h j s apprehended. In such cases, if, previously to their 
insanity, they gave intimation of a wish to be baptised, the Sa- 
crament is to be administered: without such indication previ- 
ously given, they are not to be admitted to baptism ; (83) and 
the same rule is to be followed with regard to persons in a state 
of lethargy. But if they never enjoyed the use of reason, the 
authority and practice of the Church decide, that they are to 
be baptised in the faith of the Church, on the same principle 
that children are baptised, before they come to the use of rea- 



son. 



Three con- Besides a wish to be baptised, in order to obtain the grace of 
quired in the Sacrament, faith, for the same reason, is also necessary 
adults, Lord has said: " he that believes and is baptised shall be 

faith, com- _ l 

punction, « saved." (84) Another necessary condition is compunction 
purpose of for past sins, and a fixed determination to refrain from their 
avoiding f u t ure commission: should any one dare to approach the bap- 
tismal font, a slave to vicious habits, he should be instantly re- 
pelled, for what so obstructive to the grace and virtue of bap- 
tism, as the obdurate impenitence of those who are resolved 
to persevere in the indulgence of their unhallowed passions ? 
Baptism should be sought with a view to put on Christ and to 
be united to him ; and it is, therefore, manifest that he who 
purposes to persevere in sin, should be repelled from the sacred 
font, particularly if we recollect that none of those things which 
belong to Christ and his Church, are to be received in vain, and 
that, as far as regards sanctifying and saving grace, baptism is 

(82) Aug. lib. de poen. medi. c. 2. D. Thorn. 3. p. q. 63. §. 7. 

(83) D. Thorn. 3. p. q. 86. ar. 12. (84) Mark, xvi. 16. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 167 

received in vain by him who purposes to live according to the 
flesh, and not according to the spirit. (85) As far, however, 
as regards the validity of the Sacrament, if, when about to be 
baptised, the adult intends to receive what the Church admin- 
isters, he, no doubt, validly receives the Sacrament. Hence, 
to the vast multitude, who, as the Scripture says, " being 
" compunct in heart," asked him and the other Apostles what 
they should do, Peter answered : " Do penance, and be baptis- 
" ed, every one of you ;" (86) and in another place : " Repent, 
" therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted 
" out." (87) Writing to the Romans, S. Paul also clearly shows 
that he who is baptised should entirely die to sin, and he there- 
fore admonishes us not " to yield our members as instruments 
" of iniquity unto sin; but present ourselves to God as those 
" that are alive from the dead." (88) 

Frequent reflection upon these truths cannot fail, in the first Reflec- 
place, to fill the minds of the faithful with admiration of the t". 
infinite goodness of God, who, uninfluenced by any other con- 
sideration than that of his own tender mercy, gratuitously be- 
stowed upon us, undeserving as we are, a blessing such as bap- 
tism — a blessing so extraordinary, so divine ! If, in the next TI 
place, they consider how spotless should be the lives of those, 
who have been made the objects of such singular munificence, 
they cannot fail to be convinced of the imperative obligation 
imposed upon them, to spend each day of their lives in such 
sanctity and religious fervor, as if it were that on which they 
had received the sacrament and were ennobled by the grace 
of baptism. To inflame their minds, however, with a zeal for 
true piety, the pastor will find no means more efficacious than 
an accurate exposition of the effects of baptism. 

As, then, these effects are to afford matter of frequent in- Effects of 
struction, that the faithful may be rendered more sensible of Ba P llsm - 
the high dignity to which they are raised by baptism, and may 
never suffer themselves to be degraded from its elevation by 
the disguised artifices or open assaults of Satan, they are to be first effect. 
taught, in the first place, that such is the admirable efficacy of 
this sacrament as to remit original sin, and actual guilt hovve- 

(85) Rom. viii. 1. (S6) Acts, ii. 38. (87) Acts,iii. 19. (88) Rom. vi. IS. 



168. THE CATECHISM OF 

^ ver enormous. This its transcendant efficacy was foretold long 
before by Ezekiel, through whom God said : " I will pour up- 
" on you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your 
" filthiness." (89) The Apostle also, writing to the Corin- 
thians, after having enumerated a long catalogue of crimes, 
adds: "such you were, but you are washed, but you are sanc- 
" tified." (90; That such was, at all times, the doctrine of the 
Catholic Church, is not matter of doubtful inquiry : " By the 
"generation of the flesh," says S. Augustine, in his book on 
the baptism of infants, " we contract original sin only; by the 
" regeneration of the Spirit, we obtain forgiveness not only of 
"original, but also of actual guilt." (91) S. Jerome, also, 
writing to Oceanus, says : " All sins are forgiven in baptism." 
(92) To obviate the possibility of doubt upon the subject, 
the Council of Trent, to the definitions of former Councils has 
added its own distinct declaration, by pronouncing anathema 
against those, who should presume to think otherwise, or 
should dare to assert " that, although sin is forgiven in baptism, 
" it is not entirely removed, or totally eradicated ; but is cut 
" away in such a manner, as to leave its roots still firmly fixed 
" in the soul." (93) To use the words of the same holy Coun- 
cil : " God hates nothing in those who are regenerated ; for, in 
" those who are truly buried with Christ, by baptism, unto 
"death, (94) 'who walk not according to the flesh,' there is 
"no condemnation: (95) 'putting off the old man, and putting 
" 'on the new, which is created according to God,' (96) they 
"become innocent, spotless, innoxious, and beloved of God." 
Concupis- That concupiscence, however, or the fuel of sin, still re- 
which re- mains, as the Council declares in the same place, must be ac- 
j^p t "g^ ter knowledged: but concupiscence does not constitute sin, for, as 
no sin. s. Augustine observes, "in children, who have been baptised, 
" the guilt of concupiscence is removed, the concupiscence it- 
" self remains for our probation :" and in another place : " the 
" guilt of concupiscence is pardoned in baptism, but its infirmi- 

(89) Ezek. xxxvi. 25. (90) 1 Cor. vi. 11. 

(91) Lib. 1. de pec. merit et remis. c. 15. (92) Epist. 85. ante medium. 

(93) Sess. 5. can. 5. (94) Rom. vi. 4. (95) Rom. viii. 1. (96) Eph. iv. 22, 24. 

(97) De hoc effectu baptismi vide insuper Aug. lib. I. contra duas ep. Pelag. 
c. 13. et I. 3. c. 5. in Enchir. c. 64. et lib. 1. de nupt. et concup. c. 25. item 
Greg. lib. 9. ep. 39. Concil. Vienn. et. Flor. in mater, de Sacrament. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 169 

" ty remains." (98) Concupiscence is the effect of sin, and is 
nothing more than an appetite of the soul, in itself repugnant 
to reason. If unaccompanied with the consent of the will, or 
unattended with neglect on our part, it differs essentially from 
the nature of sin. This doctrine does not dissent from these 
words of S. Paul : " I had not known concupiscence, if the law 
"did not say: 'thou shalt not covet.'" (99) The Apostle 
speaks not of the importunity of concupiscence, but of the sin- 
fulness of the interior act of the will, in assenting to its solici- 
tations. The same doctrine is taught by S. Gregory, when he 
says : " If there are any who assert that, in baptism, sin is but 
*' superficially effaced, what can savour more of infidelity than 
"the assertion? By the Sacrament of Baptism sin is utterly 
" eradicated, and the soul adheres entirely to God." (100) In 
proof of this doctrine he has recourse to the testimony of our 
Lord himself, who says in S. John: " He that is washed, need- 
" eth not but to wash his feet, but is wholly clean." (101) 

But should illustration be desired, an express figure and im- Figure of 
age of the efficacy of baptism will be found in the history of lustrative 
the leprosy of Naaman the Syrian, of whom the Scriptures in- °f ltsfirst 
form us, that when he had washed seven times in the waters of 
the Jordan, he was so cleansed from his leprosy, that his flesh 
became "like the flesh of a child." (102) The remission of 
all sin, original and actual is, therefore, the peculiar effect of 
baptism. That this was the object of its institution by our 
Lord and Saviour, is a truth clearly deduced from the testimo- 
ny of S. Peter, to say nothing of the array of evidence that 
might be adduced from other sources : " Do penance," says he, 
" and be baptised every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
" Christ, for the remission of your sins." (103) 

But in baptism, not only is sin forgiven, but. with it all the Second ef- 
punishment due to sin is remitted by a merciful God. To com- tism° aP 
municate the virtue of the passion of Christ is an effect com- 
mon to all the Sacraments ; but of baptism alone does the Apos- 

(9S) Aug. 1. 2. depec. mer. remiss, c. 4. (99) Rom. vii. 7. 

(100) L. 9. Reg. epist. 39. (101) John, xiii. 10. (102 j 4 Kings, v. 14. 

f 103j Acts, ii. 3S. De concupiscentiii remanente in baptizalis vide Aug;, lib. 
1. de pec. merit, et remiss, c. 39. item. 1. 1. contra duas Epist. Pelag. c. 13. lib. 
3. c. 3. in medio, et lib. 1. de nupt. et concup. c. 23. et 25. item lib. 6. contra 
Julian, q. 5. et de verb. Apost. serin. 6. 

22 



i 



170 THE CATECHISM OF 

tie say, that " by it we die and are buried together with 
"Christ." (104) Hence the Church has uniformly taught, 
that to impose those offices of piety, usually called by the Fa- 
thers works of satisfaction, on him who is to be cleansed in 
the salutary waters of baptism, would be derogatory in the 
£ m lsd ° c r highest degree to the dignity of this Sacrament. (105) Nor is 
inconsist- there any discrepancy between the doctrine here delivered 
the prac- an d the practice of the primitive Church, which of old com- 
tice of the m anded the Jews, when preparing for baptism, to observe a 

primitive 7 r r o i i 

Church, fast of forty days. The fast thus imposed was not enjoined 
as a work of satisfaction : it was a practical lesson of instruc- 
tion to those who were to receive the Sacrament ; and one 
well calculated to impress upon their minds a deeper sense of 
the august dignity of a rite, of which they were not admitted 
to be participators, without devoting some time to the uninter- 
rupted exercise of fasting and prayer. 
Baptism But, although the remission by baptism of the punishments 
exemption ^ ue *° sm cann °t be questioned, we are not hence to infer 
from the that it gives the offender an exemption from undergoing the 

sentence of iii • -i i t i- 

the civil punishments awarded by the civil laws to public delinquency 
law. — that, for instance, it rescues from the hand of justice the man 

who is legally condemned to forfeit his life to the violated 
laws of his country. We cannot, however, too highly com- 
mend the religion and piety of those princes, who, on some 
occasions, remit the sentence of the law, that the glory of God 
may be the more strikingly displayed in his Sacraments. Bap- 
tism also remits all the punishment due to original sin in the 
next life, and this it does through the merits of our Lord Je- 
sus Christ. By baptism, as we have already said, we die with 
Christ, " for if," says the Apostle, " we have been planted to- 
" gether in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the 
"likeness of his resurrection." (106) 
These in- Should it be asked why, after baptism, we are not exempt 
ces of ori- m this life, from those inconveniences which flow from original 

(104; Rom. vi. 3, 4. Col. ii. 12. 

(105) Quod pcenae peccatis debitae remittantur in baptismo, vide Ambros. in 
c. 11. ad Rom. Aug. 1. 1, de nupt. et concupis. c. 33. et in Ench. c. 4. D. 
Thorn, p. 3. q. 69. art. 2. unde nee ulla est imponenda poenitentia. Greg. 1. 7. 
regist. Episc. 24. et habetur de consecrat. distinct. 4. cap. ne quod absit. D. 
Thorn. 3. p. q. 68. art. 5. (106J Rom. vi. 5. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 171 

sin, and restored by the influence of this Sacrament to that state ginal sin, 
of perfection, in which Adam, the father of the human race, removed 
was placed before his fall ; for this two principal reasons are b ? ba P tlsm 
assigned: the first, that we, who by baptism are united to, and 
become members of Christ's body, may not be more honored 
than our head. As, therefore, Christ our Lord, although cloth- 
ed from his birth with the plenitude of grace and truth, was 
not divested of human infirmity, until, having suffered and died, 
he rose to the glory of immortality ; it cannot appear extraor- 
dinary, if the faithful, even after they have received the grace 
of justification by baptism, are clothed with frail and perisha- 
ble bodies ; that after having undergone many labors for the 
sake of Christ, and having closed their earthly career, they may 
be recalled to life, and found worthy to enjoy with him an eter- 
nity of bliss. 

The second reason why corporal infirmity, disease, sense of ft 
pain, and motions of concupiscence, remain after baptism, is, 
that in them we may have the germs of virtue from which we 
shall hereafter receive a more abundant harvest of glory, and 
treasure up to ourselves more ample rewards. When, with 
patient resignation, we bear up against the trials of this life, and 
aided by the divine assistance, subject to the dominion of rea- 
son the rebellious desires of the heart, we may and ought to 
cherish an assured hope, that the time will come when, if with 
the Apostle we shall have " fought a good fight, finished the 
" course, and kept the faith, the Lord, the just judge, will ren- 
" der to us on that day, a crown of justice, which is laid up for 
"us." (107) Such seems to have been the divine economy An iiius- 
with regard to the children of Israel : God delivered them from 
the bondage of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh and his host 
in the sea; (108) yet he did not conduct them immediately into 
the happy land of promise. He first tried them by a variety 
and multiplicity of sufferings ; and when he afterwards placed 
them in possession of the promised land, he expelled from their 
native territories, the other inhabitants ; whilst a few other na- 
tions, whom they could not exterminate, remained, that the 

(107) 2 Tim. iv. 7. (10S) Exod. xiv. 21. 



172 THE CATECHISM OF 

people of God might never want occasions to exercise their 
warlike fortitude and valor. (109) 
III. To these we may add another consideration, which is, that 

if to the heavenly gifts with which the soul is adorned in bap- 
tism, were appended temporal advantages, we should have 
good reason to doubt whether many might not approach the 
baptismal font, with a view to obtain such advantages in this 
life, rather than the glory to be hoped for in the next ; where- 
as the Christian should always propose to himself not the de- 
lusive and uncertain things of this world, " which are seen," 
but the solid and eternal enjoyments of the next, " which are 
Baptism, " not seen." (110) This life, however, although full of mise- 
of happi- r y> does not want its pleasures and joys. To us, who by bap- 
ness to the jj sm are engrafted as branches on Christ, (111) what source 

Christian, to . . 

even in of purer pleasure, what object of nobler ambition, than, taking 

up our cross, to follow him as our leader, fatigued by no labor, 
retarded by no danger in pursuit of the rewards of our high 
vocation ; some to receive the laurel of virginity, others the 
crown of doctors and confessors, some the palm of martyrdom, 
others the honors appropriated to their respective virtues? 
These splendid titles of exalted dignity none of us should re- 
ceive, had we not contended in the race, and stood unconquer- 
ed in the conflict. 
Third ef- But to return to the effects of baptism, the pastor will teach 
u B C m 0f bap " tnat ' by virtue of this Sacrament, we are not only delivered 
from what are justly deemed the greatest of all evils, but are 
also enriched with invaluable goods. Our souls are replenish- 
ed with divine grace, by which, rendered just and children of 
God, we are made coheirs to the inheritance of eternal life ; 
for it is written, " he that believeth and is baptised, shall be 
" saved -,"(11 2) and the Apostle testifies, that the Church is 
cleansed, " by the laver of water, in the word of life." (113) 
But grace, according to the definition of the Council of Trent, 
a definition to which, under pain of anathema, we are bound 
to defer, not only remits sin, but is also a divine quality inhe- 
rent in the soul, and, as it were a brilliant light that effaces all 

(109) Judges, iii. 1, 2. (110) 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. fill) John, xv. 2. 
(112) Mark, xvi. 16. (113) Ephes. v. 26. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 173 

those stains which obscure the lustre of the soul, and invests it 
with increased brightness and beauty. (114) This is also a 
clear inference from the words of Scripture when it says, that 
grace is "poured forth," (115) and also when it calls grace 
"the pledge" of the Holy Ghost. (116) 

The progress of grace in the soul is also accompanied by a^° t n ^~_ 
most splendid train of virtues ; and hence, when writing to Ti- tism. 
tus, the Apostle says : " He saved us by the laver of regenera- 
" tion, and renovation of the Holy Ghost, whom he hath pour- 
" ed forth upon us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Sa- 
" viour ;" (117) S.Augustine, in explanation of the words,"pour- 
" ed forth on us abundantly," says, " that is, for the remission 
" of sins, and for abundance of virtues." (118) 

By baptism we are also united to Christ, as members to their Fifth ef- 
head : as, therefore, from the head proceeds the power by baptism, 
which the different members of the body are impelled to the 
proper performance of their peculiar functions ; so from the 
fullness of Christ the Lord, are diffused divine grace and vir- 
tue through all those who are justified, qualifying them for the 
performance of all the offices of Christian piety. (119) 

We are, it is true, supported by a powerful array of virtues. Difficulty 
It should not, however, excite our surprise if we cannot, with- ing virtue 
out much labour and difficulty undertake, or, at least, perform ^Iptism er 
acts of piety, and of moral virtue. If this is so, it is not be- whence it 

jiriscs liow 

cause the goodness of God has not bestowed on us the virtues to be 'com- 
from which these actions emanate ; but because there remains, bated - 
after baptism, a severe conflict of the flesh against the spirit, 
(120) in which, however, it would not become a Christian to be 
dispirited or grow faint. Relying on the divine goodness, we 
should confidently hope, that by a constant habit of leading a 
holy life, the time will arrive, when "whatever things are mo- 

(114) Sess, 6, 7, de Justine. (U5) Tit. hi. 6. 

(116) Eph. i. 14. 2 Cor. i. 22, etv. 5. Quid sit gratia de qua hie vide August, 
lib. 1. de peccat. merit, et remiss, c. 10. item de spiritu et litera, c. 2S, versus 
finem. Bernard, serm. 1. in csena domini. (in) Tit. iii. 5, 6. 

(118) De hoe effectu baptismi vide Chrysost. horn, ad Neoph. et baptis. Da- 
mas, lib. 2, de fide Orthod. c. 36. Lactant. lib. 3, Divin. Instit. c. 25. Aug. Epist. 
23, ad Bonifac. item lib. 1, de peccat. merit, et remiss, c. 29. Prosp. 1. 2, de vo- 
cat. Gent. c. 9. 

(119) Quod perbaptismum Christi capiti ut membra connectamur, vide Au- 
gust, epist. 23, item lib. 1, de pec. meritis et remiss, c. 16. Prosp. de voc. Gent. 
1. 1, c. 9. Bernard, serm. 1. in Csena Dom. D. Thorn. 3, p. q. 69. art. 5. 

(120jGal. v. 17. 






174 



Sixth ef- 
fect of bap 



Baptism 
not to be 
repeated, 
and why. 



Not re- 
peated, 
even wh 



THE CATECHISM OF 

"dest, whatever just, whatever holy," (121) will also prove 
easy and agreeable. Be these the subjects of our fond consid- 
eration ; be these the objects of our cheerful practice ; that 
"the God of peace may be with us." (122) 

By Baptism, moreover, we are sealed with a character that 
can never be effaced from the soul, of which, however, it were 
here superfluous to speak at large, as in what we have already 
said on the subject, when treating of the Sacraments in gene- 
ral, the pastor will find sufficient matter on the subject, to 
which he may refer. (123) 

But as from the nature and efficacy of this character, it has 
been defined by the Church, that this Sacrament is on no ac- 
count to be reiterated, the pastor should frequently and dili- 
gently admonish the faithful on this subject, lest at any time 
they may err on a matter of such moment. The doctrine 
which prohibits the reiteration of baptism, is that of the Apos- 
tle, when he says: " One Lord, one faith, one baptism." (124) 
Again, when, exhorting the Romans, that dead in Christ by 
baptism, they lose not the life which they received from him, 
he says : " In that Christ died to sin, he died once ;" (125) he 
seems clearly to signify that as Christ cannot die again, neither 
can we die again by baptism. Hence the Church openly pro- 
fesses that she believes " one baptism ;" and that this accords 
with the nature and object of the Sacrament appears from the 
very idea of baptism, which is a spiritual regeneration. As 
then, according to the laws of nature, we are born but once, 
and " our birth," as S. Augustine observes, " cannot be repeat- 
" ed," (126) so, in the supernatural order, there is but one 
spiritual regeneration, and therefore, baptism, can never be 
administered a second time. (127) 

Nor let it be supposed that this Sacrament is repeated by 
1 the Church, when she admits to the baptismal font those of 



(121) Philip, iv. 8. 

(122) 2 Cor. xiii. 11. Vide hac de re Aug. lib. v. contra Julian, c. 2, et 5, 
item de peccat. merit, et remiss, lib. 1. c. 3. 

(123) Vide Aug. lib. 6, contra Donatist. cap. 1. et in epist. Joan, tract. 5. 
Trid. sess. 7. 

(124;Eph. iv. 5. (125) Rom. vi. 10. (12GJ In Joan, tract. 1 1. 

(127) Hac de re vide Trid. sess. 7, de baptismo, can. 1 1. et 13. item Concil. 
Cartha. can. 1, Vien. ut habetur in Clem. 1. lib. de sum. Trinit. D. August. 
tract. 11. in Joan. Beda in capite 3, Joan. Leo Mag. epist. 37, et 39, D. Thorn. 
3. p. q. 66, a. 9. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 175 

whose previous baptism reasonable doubts are entertained, adminis- 
making use of this form : " If thou art already baptised, I bap- ditionally. 
" tise thee not again ; but if thou art not already baptised, I 
" baptise thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
" the Holy Ghost :" in such cases baptism is not to be consid- 
ered as repeated (its repetition would be an impiety) but as 
holily, because conditionally administered. 

In this, however, the pastor should use particular precau- When to 
tion, in order to avoid certain abuses which are of almost dai- istered 
ly occurrence, to the no small irreverence of this Sacrament. c ° ndltlon " 
There are those who think that they commit no sin by the in- 
discriminate administration of conditional baptism : if a child 
is brought before them, they imagine that inquiry as to its pre- 
vious baptism is unnecessary, and accordingly proceed, with- 
out delay, to administer the Sacrament. Nay more, having 
ascertained that the child received private baptism, they hesi- 
tate not to repeat its administration conditionally, making use, 
at the same time, of the solemn ceremonies of the Church ! 
Such temerity incurs the guilt of sacrilege, and involves the 
minister in what theologians call " an irregularity." It has 
been authoritatively decided by pope Alexander, that the con- 
ditional form of baptism is to be used only when, after due in- 
quiry, doubts are entertained of the validity of the previous 
baptism; (128) and in no other case can it ever be lawful to 
administer baptism a second time, even conditionally. (129) 

Besides the many other advantages which accrue to us from Seventh 
baptism, we may look upon it as the last, to which all the rest^ptism. 
seem to be referred, that it opens to us the portals of Heaven, 
which sin had closed against our admission. All these effects, 
which are wrought in us by virtue of this Sacrament, are dis- 
tinctly marked by the circumstances which as the Gospel re- 
lates, accompanied the baptism of our Saviour. The heavens 
were opened, and the Holy Ghost appeared descending upon 
Christ our Lord, in form of a dove ; (130) by which we are giv- 
en to understand, that to those who are baptised are imparted 

(128) Lib. 1. Decretal, tit. de baptismo. c. de quidem. 

(129) De irregularitate cujus hie est mentio, vid. apostat. et reit. baptism, c. 
ex litterarum, et de Consecr. dist. 4. c. eos qui. et lib. 3. decretal, de baptismo 
et ejus effectu. c. de quibus- (130) Matth. iii. 16. 



176 THE CATECHISM OF 

the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that to them are unfolded the 
gates of Heaven, opening to them an entrance into glory ; not, 
it is true, immediately after baptism, but in due season, when 
freed from the miseries of this life, which are incompatible 
with a state of bliss, they shall exchange a mortal for an im- 
mortal life, 
efficacy of These are the fruits of baptism, which, as far as regards the 

the Sacra- e ffi cacv f th e Sacrament, are, no doubt, common to all ; but 

ment com- J . . - . . 

montoall, as far as regards the dispositions with which it is received, it 

gifts and is no less certain that all do not participate equally of these 
graces. heavenly gifts and graces. 

The pray- It now remains to explain, clearly and concisely, what re- 
and cere- gards the prayers, rites, and ceremonies of this Sacrament. To 
monies, of r j(- es anc | ce remonies may, in some measure, be applied what 
be explain- the Apostle says of the gift of tongues, that it is unprofitable to 
speak, unless he who hears understand. (131) They presentan 
image, and convey the signification of the things that are done 
in the Sacrament ; but if the people understand not their force 
and significancy, they can be of very little advantage to them. 
To make them understood, therefore, and to impress the minds 
of the faithful with a conviction that, although not of absolute 
necessity, they are of very great importance, and challenge 
great veneration, are matters which solicit the zeal and industry 
of the pastor. This, the authority of those by whom they were 
instituted, who were, no doubt, the Apostles, and also the ob- 
ject of their institution, sufficiently prove. That ceremonies 
contribute to the more religious and holy administration of the 
Sacraments, serve to exhibit to the eyes of the beholder a live- 
ly picture of the exalted and inestimable gifts which they con- 
tain, and impress on the minds of the faithful a deeper sense of 
the boundless beneficence of God, are truths as obvious as they 
are unquestionable. (132) 
Reduced to But that in his expositions the pastor may follow a certain 

three heads . .. . , , _ , . . „ , . . 

order, and that the people may find it easier to recollect his in- 
structions, all the ceremonies and prayers which the Church 

(131) 1 Cor. xiv. 2. 

(132) De eis ritibus vide Dion. cap. 2. de Eccles. Hier. Clem. Epist. 3. Tertul. 
lib. de corona milit. etde baptism, passim. Origin, horn. 12. in num. Cypr. Epist. 
70. item vide de consecr. dist. 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 177 

uses in the administration of baptism, are to be reduced to 
three heads. The first comprehends such as are observed be- 
fore coming to the baptismal font — the second, such as are used 
at the font — the third, those that immediately follow the admin- 
istration of the Sacrament. 

In the first place, then, the water to be used in baptism should The water 
be previously prepared : the baptismal water is consecrated consecra- 
with the oil of mystic unction ; and this cannot be done at all 
times, but, according to ancient usage, on the vigils of certain 
festivals, which are justly deemed the greatest and the most 
holy solemnities in the year, and on which alone, except in 
cases of necessity, it was the practice of the ancient Church 
to administer baptism. (133) But although the Church, on ac- 
count of the dangers to which life is continually exposed, has 
deemed it expedient to change her discipline in this respect, 
she still observes with the greatest solemnity the festivals of 
Easter and Pentecost, on which the baptismal water is to be 
consecrated. 

After the consecration of the water, the other ceremonies The person 
that precede baptism are next to be explained. The person to t Ld a? ~ 
be baptised is brought or conducted to the door of the church, ^[ and ^ at , 
and is forbidden to enter, as unworthy to be admitted into the door, 
house of God, until he has cast off the yoke of the most de- 
grading servitude of Satan, devoted himself unreservedly to 
Christ, and pledged his fidelity to the just sovereignty of the 
Lord Jesus. (134) 

* The priest then asks what he demands of the Church of God ; Catecheti- 
and having received the answer, he first instructs him cate- calinstruc " 
chetically, in the doctrines of the Christian faith, of which a 
profession is to be made in baptism. (135) This practice of 
thus communicating instruction, originated, no doubt, in the 
precept of our Lord, addressed to his Apostles : " Go ye into 
" the whole world, and teach all nations, baptising them in the 
" name of the Father, and of the Son,, and of the Holy Ghost ; 
" teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- 

(133) Cypr. epist. TO. Item Basil, de Spiritu S. c. 27. et de consec. dist. 4. c. 
in Sabbato. (134) Tertul. de corona milit. c. 3. Cyril. Hierosol. Catech. 8. 
(135) Clem. Rom. epist. 3. Aug. de fide et oper. c. 9. 

23 



178 THE CATECHISM OF, 

" manded you;' 1 (136) words from which we may learn that 
baptism is not to be administered, until, at least, the principal 
truths of religion are explained. But as the catechetical form 
consists of question and anvver ; if the person to be instructed 
be an adult, he himself answers the interrogatories ; if an in- 
fant, the sponsor answers according - to the prescribed form, 
and enters into a solemn engagement for the child. 

The exor- The exorcism comes next in order : it consists of words of 
sacred and religious import, and of prayers ; and is used to 
expel the devil, to weaken and crush his power. To the ex- 
orcism are added other ceremonies, each of which being mys- 

The salt, tical, has its clear and proper signification. (137) When, for 
instance, salt is put into the mouth of the person to be baptis- 
ed, it evidently imports, that by the doctrines of faith, and by 
the gift of grace, he shall be delivered from the corruption of 
sin, shall experience a relish for good works, and shall be nur- 

The sign tured with the food of divine wisdom. (138) Again, his fore- 

of the cross v ' ° ' 

head, eyes, breast, shoulders, ears, are signed with the sign of 
the cross, to declare, that by the mystery of baptism, the senses 
of the person baptised are opened and strengthened, to enable 
him to receive God, and to understand and observe his com- 

The spittle man dments. (139) His nostrils and ears are next touched 
with spittle, and he is then immediately admitted to the bap- 
tismal font: by this ceremony we understand that, as sight 
was given to the blind man, mentioned in the Gospel, whom 
the Lord, having spread clay on his eyes, commanded to wasji 
them in the waters of Siloe ; (140) so by the efficacy of holy 
baptism, a light is let in on the mind, which enables it to dis- 
cern heavenly truth. (141) 
II- After the performance of these ceremonies, the person to be 

nunciation baptised approaches the baptismal font, at which are perform- 
ed other rites and ceremonies, which present a summary of 

(136) Mark, xvi. 15. Matth. xxviii. 19, 20. 

(137) De exorcismis vide Tertul. de prescript, c. 41. Cypr. epist. 2. Aug. lib. 
2. de gratia Dei & peccat. orig. cap. 40. &. lib- 2. de Nupt. et concupis. cap. 26. 
Optat. lib. 4. contra Parmenianum. 

(138) Bed. in lib. Esdrse, c. 9. Isid. lib. 2. de otKc. eccl. c. 20. et Aug. lib. 1. 
confess, c. 1 1 . 

(139) De signo crucis vide Tertul. lib. de resurr. cam. Basil, lib. de Spiritu 
Sancto. Chrys. contra gentes & alios. (140) John, ix. 7. 

(141) De saliva Am. lib. 1. de sacram. 1. et de iis qui myst. init. c. 1. et de 
eonsecr. distinct. 4. c. postea. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 179 

the obligations imposed by the Christian religion. In three 
distinct interrogatories, he is formally asked by the minister 
of religion, " dost thou renounce Satan ?" " and all his works ?" 
" and all his pomps ?" — to each of which he, or the sponsor in 
his name, replies in the affirmative. Whoever, then, purposes 
to enlist under the standard of Christ, must, first of all, enter 
into a sacred and solemn engagement to renounce the devil and 
the world, and, as his worst enemies, to hold them in utter de- 
testation. (142) 

He is next anointed with the oil of catechumens on the The ° ilof 

catechu- 
breast and between the shoulders — on the breast, that by the mens. 

gift of the Holy Ghost he may lay aside error and ignorance, 
and receive the true faith ; for " the just man, liveth by faith" 
(143) — on the shoulders, that by the grace of the Holy Spirit 
he may be enabled to shake off negligence and torpor, and en- 
gage actively in the performance of good works ; for " faith 
" without works is dead." (144) 

Next, standing at the baptismal font, he is interrogated by T he pro ", 

i • • /•!••'! t ^ , fession of 

the minister of religion in these words : " Dost thou believe in faith. 
" God, the Father Almighty ?" to which is answered ; " I be- 
" lieve ;" a like interrogatory is proposed with regard to the 
other articles of the creed, successively; and thus is made a 
solemn profession of faith. These two engagements, the re- 
nunciation of Satan and all his works and pomps, and the be- 
lief of all the articles of the creed, including, as they do, both 
faith and practice, constitute, it is clear, the whole force and 
discipline of the law of Christ. (145) 

When baptism is now about to be administered, the priest The will 
asks him if he will be baptised ; to which an answer in the af- itf 
firmative being given by him, or, if an infant, by the sponsor, Jj^ se J d 
the priest performs the ablution, " in the name of the Father when'as- 
« and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." As man, by yield- EjfiS 
ing the assent, of his will to the wicked suggestions of Satan, adininis " 
fell under a just sentence of condemnation; so God will have 
none enrolled in the number of his soldiers, but those whose 

(142) Tertul. lib. de coron. mil. c. 13. & de spectac. c. 4. et de Idol, c 6 
Cypr. epist. 1. 54. 

(143) Gal. iii. 11. (144) James, ii. 86. (145) Cyril Ilier. Cfttecfo ft & 3. 



WS"-^PI» 



180 THE CATECHISM OF 

service is voluntary ; that by a willing obedience to his com- 
mands, they may obtain eternal salvation. 
III. After the person has been baptised, the priest anoints with 

chrism. ° chrism the crown of his head, thus giving him to understand, 
that from the moment of his baptism, he is united as a member 
to Christ, his head, and engrafted on his body, and that he is, 
therefore, called a Christian, from Christ, as Christ is so called 
from Chrism. What the Chrism signifies, the prayers offered 
by the priest, as S. Ambrose observes, snfficiently explain. (146) 
The white On the person baptised the priest then puts a white garment, 
garment. sa jj n g- 5 u receive this white garment, which mayest thou car- 
" ry unstained before the judgment-seat of our Lord Jesus 
" Christ ; that thou mayest have eternal life. Amen." Instead 
of a white garment, infants because not formally dressed, re- 
ceive a white kerchief, accompanied with the same words. 
According to the doctrine of the Holy Fathers this symbol 
signifies the glory of the resurrection to which we are born by 
baptism, the brightness and beauty with which the soul, when 
purified from the stains of sin, is invested, and the innocence 
and integrity which the person who has received baptism, should 
preserve through life. (147) 
The bum- To signify that faith received in baptism, and inflamed by 
mg light. c h ar jty 5 i s to be fed and augmented by the exercise of good 

works, a burning light is next put into his hand. (148) 
The name, Finally, a name is given, which should be taken from some 
its utility, p ers01l5 w hose eminent sanctity has given him a place in the 
tion. catalogue of the Saints : this similarity of name will stimulate 

to the imitation of his virtues and the attainment of his holi- 
ness ; and we should hope and pray that he who is the model 
of our imitation, may also, by his advocacy, become the guar- 
dian of our safety and salvation. Hence we cannot mark in 
terms too strong, our disapprobation of the conduct of those 
who, with a perverse industry, search for, and whose delight 
it is to distinguish their children by, the names of heathens ; 
and what is still worse, of monsters of iniquity, who, by their 

(146) Lib. 1. de Sacram. Dionys. Eccl. Hierar. c. 3. Cyril. Hieros. Catech. 
S. Basil, lib. de Spiritu Sancto. c. 2". 

(147) Dionys. loco citato. Amb. de iis qui myst. init. c. 8. 

(148) De hoc cereo vide Gregor. Nazian. serm. de bapt. Gregor. Turon. lib. 
5. cap. 11. Niceph. inst. Eccle. lib. 3. c. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 181 

profligate lives, have earned an infamous notoriety. By such 
conduct they practically prove, how little they regard a zeal 
for Christian piety, who so fondly cherish the memory of im- 
pious men, as to wish to have their profane names continually 
echo in the ears of the faithful. 

This exposition of baptism, if given by the pastor, will be ^fcapitu- 
found to embrace, almost every thing of importance, which re- 
gards this Sacrament. We Have explained the meaning of the 
word " baptism," its nature and substance, and also the parts of 
which it is composed — we have said by whom it was institut- 
ed — who are the ministers necessary to its administration — 
who should be, as it were, the tutors, whose instructions should 
sustain the weakness of the person baptised — to whom baptism 
should be administered, and how they should be disposed — ■ 
what are the virtue and efficacy of the Sacrament. — Finally, 
we have developed, at sufficient length for our purpose, the 
rites and ceremonies that should accompany its administration. 
The pastor will recollect that all these instructions have prin- 
cipally for object, to induce *the faithful to direct their constant 
attention and solicitude to the fulfilment of the sacred and in- 
violable engagements into which they entered at the baptismal 
font, and to lead lives not unworthy the sanctity of the name 
and profession of Christian. 



ON THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION. 



If ever there was a time that demanded the assiduity of the Urgentne- 
pastor in explaining the Sacrament of Confirmation, it is doubt- expiamw 
less the present, when there are found in the Church of God the Sacra- 
many, by whom it is altogether omitted; whilst very few confirma- 
study to derive from it the fruit of divine grace, which its wor- ^° e " e ^ a 
thy reception imparts. That this divine blessing therefore, 
may not seem through their fault, and to the serious injury of 



182 THE CATECHISM OF 

their immortal souls, to have been conferred in vain, the faith- 
ful are to be instructed, on Whitsunday, and on such other 
days as the pastor shall deem convenient, in the nature, effica- 
cy and dignity of this Sacrament; so as to make them sensible 
that not only is it not to be neglected, but that it is to be ap- 
proached with the greatest reverence and devotion. 
Why call- To begin therefore with its name, the pastor will inform 
mation. " the faithful that this Sacrament is called Confirmation, because, 
if no obstacle is opposed to its efficacy, the person who re- 
ceives it, when anointed with the sacred chrism by the hand 
of the bishop, who accompanies the unction with these words : 
u I sign thee with the sign of the cross, and confirm thee with 
" the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and of 
" the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," is confirmed in strength by 
receiving new virtue, and becomes a perfect soldier of Christ. 

(0 

Confirma- That confirmation has all the conditions of a true Sacrament 
cr°ament. a " nas been, at all times, the doctrine of the Catholic Church, as 
Pope Melchiades, (2) and many 'other very holy and ancient 
pontiffs expressly declare. The truth of this doctrine S. Cle- 
ment could not have confirmed in stronger terms, than when 
he says: "All should hasten, without delay to be born again 
" to God, and then to be sealed by the bishop, that is, to re- 
" ceive the seven-fold gift of the Holy Ghost ; for, as we have 
" learned from S. Peter, and as the other Apostles taught in obe- 
" dience to the command of our Lord, he who contumeliously 
" and not from necessity, but voluntarily neglects to receive this 
"Sacrament, cannot possibly become a perfect Christian." (3) 
This same doctrine has been confirmed, as may be seen in their 
decrees, by the Urbans, the Fabians, the Eusebius's, pontiffs 
who, animated with the same spirit, shed their blood for the 
name of Christ. It is also fortified by the unanimous testimo- 
ny of the Fathers, amongst whom Denis the Areopagite, bish- 
op of Athens, teaching how to consecrate and make use of 
the holy ointment, says : " The priest clothes the person bap- 
"tised with a garment emblematic .of his purity, in order to 

(1) Cone. Aur. c. 3, item Flor. 

(2) Epist. ad Episcop. Hispan. c. 2. ep. 4, ante finem. 

(3) Habes decreta horum Pontificumde consecrat. dist. 5. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 183 

" conduct him to the bishop ; and the bishop, signing him with 
" the holy and divine ointment, makes him partaker of the 
" most holy communion." (4) Of such importance does Euse- 
bius of Caesarea deem this Sacrament, that he hesitates not to 
say, that the heretic Novatus could not receive the Holy Ghost, 
because, having received baptism, he was not when visited by 
severe illness, sealed with the sign of chrism. (5) On this sub- 
ject we might adduce testimonies the most conclusive from S. 
Ambrose in his book on the Initiated, (6) and from S. Augus- 
tine in his works against the epistles of the Donatist Petilian : 
so convinced were they, that no doubt could exist as to the 
reality of this Sacrament, that they not only taught the doc- 
trine, but confirmed its truth by many passages of Scripture, 
the one applying to it these words of the Apostle : " Grieve 
"not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto 
" the day of redemption." (7) the other, these words of the 
Psalmist : " like the precious ointment on the head, that ran 
" down upon the beard of Aaron," (8) and also these words of 
the same Apostle, " The charity of God is poured forth in our 
" hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us." (9) 

Confirmation, although said by Melchiades to have a most Confirma- 
intimate connection with baptism, (10) is yet an entirely dif- tirely dif- 
ferent Sacrament: the diversity of the grace which each Sa-f erentfrom 

» ° . baptism. 

crament confers, and the diversity of the external sign employ- I. 
ed to signify that grace, obviously constitute them different 
Sacraments. As by the grace of baptism we are begotten to 
newness of life, and by that of confirmation grow to full ma- 
turity, " having put away the things of a child," (11) we can 
hence, sufficiently comprehend that the same difference which 
exists in the natural order between birth and growth, exists 
also in the supernatural, between baptism which regenerates, 
and confirmation which imparts full growth and perfect spiritu- 
al strength. 

(4) S. Dionysius de Eccles. Hierar. c. 2. (5) Lib. 6. histor. cap. 43. 

(6.) Lib. de iisqui myst. initiantur. c. 1, lib. 2, c. 104. 

(7) Eph. iv. 30. (8 ) Psalm, cxxxii. 2. 

(9) Rom. v. 5. Confirmationem esse sacramentum habes insuper ex Ambros. 
de Sacr. lib. 3, c. 2, lib. de Spiritu Sancto, c. 6 & 1, item Aug. de Trinit. lib. 
15, c. 26, et in epist. Joan, tract. 3 & 6, et in Psalmis 26, et ante hos omnes. 
Tertul. lib. de Resurr. car. Cypr. epist. i. Origen, hom. 9, in Levit. Hieron. 
contr. Lucif. Cyril. Hieros. Catech. 3. 

(10) Epist. ad Episc. Hisp. in med. (i 1) 1 Cor. xii. 1 1. 



ws 



184 THE CATECHISM OF 

0- Again, if the new difficulties, which the soul has to encoun- 

ter, demand the aid of a new and distinct Sacrament, it is ob- 
vious that as we have occasion for the grace of baptism to 
stamp upon the soul the impress of the true faith, so it is of 
the utmost advantage that a new grace fortify us with such in- 
trepidity of soul, that no danger, no dread of pains, tortures, 
death, have povver to deter us from the profession of the true 
faith. Hence, Pope Melchiades marks the difference between 
them with minute accuracy in these terms : " In baptism," says 
he, " the Christian is enlisted into the service, in confirmation 
"he is equipped for battle; at the baptismal font the Holy 
" Ghost imparts the plenitude of innocence, in confirmation 
" the perfection of grace ; in baptism we are regenerated to 
" life, after baptism we are fortified for the combat ; in bap- 
" tism we are cleansed, in confirmation we are strengthened ; 
" regeneration saves by its own efficacy those who receive 
" baptism in peace, confirmation arms and prepares for the 
u conflict." (12) These are truths not only recorded by other 
Councils, but specially defined by the Council of Trent, and 
we are, therefore, no longer at liberty not only to dissent from, 
but even to entertain the least doubt regarding them. (13) 
Instituted But, to impress the faithful with a deeper sense of the sanc- 
y nst * tity of this Sacrament, the pastor will make known to them by 
whom it was instituted ; a knowledge the importance of which 
with regard to all the Sacraments, we have already pointed 
out. He will, accordingly, inform them that not only was it 
instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, but as S. Fabian, Bishop 
of Rome testifies, the chrism and the words used in its admin- 
istration were also appointed by him : a fact of easy proof to 
those who believe confirmation to be a Sacrament, for all the 
sacred mysteries are beyond the power of man, and could 
have been instituted by God alone. (14) 
Its matter, Of the component parts of the Sacrament, and, first, of its 
Chrism. ma tter we now come to treat. The matter of Confirmation is 
chrism, a word borrowed from the Greek language, and which, 
although used by profane writers to designate any sort of oint- 

(12) Loco citato. 

(13) Laod. can. 48, Meld. c. 6. Florent. & Constant. Trid. sess. 7. 
(14)Epist. 2, initio. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 1S5 

ment, is appropriated, by ecclesiastical usage, to signify oint- 
ment composed of oil and balsam, and solemnly consecrated 
by the episcopal benediction. A mixture of oil and balsam, 
therefore, constitutes the matter of Confirmation ; and this mix- 
ture of different elements at once expresses the manifold gra- 
ces of the Holy Ghost, and the excellence of this sacrament. 
That such is its matter the Church and her councils have uni- 
formly taught ; and the same doctrine has been handed down 
to us by S. Denis, and by many other fathers of authority too 
great to be questioned, particularly by Pope Fabian, (15) who 
testifies that the Apostles received the composition of chrism 
from our Lord, and transmitted it to us. (16) To declare the Propriety 
effects of Confirmation, no sacramental matter could have been ^ its mat . 
more appropriate than chrism : oil, by its nature unctuous and tor - 
fluid, expresses the plenitude of divine grace, which flows 
from Christ the head, through the Holy Ghost, and is poured 
out, " like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down 
"upon the beard of Aaron, to the skirt of his garment ;" (17) 
for " God anointed him with the oil of gladness, above his fel- 
lows," (18) and " of his fullness we all have received." (19) 
Balsam, too, the odour which is most grateful, signifies that 
the faithful, made perfect by the grace of Confirmation, diffuse 
around them, by reason of their many virtues, such a sweet 
odour that they may truly say with the Apostle : " We are 
" the good odour of Christ unto God." (20) Balsam has also 
the quality of preserving incorrupt whatever it embalms ; a 
quality well adapted to express the virtue of this Sacrament : 
prepared by the heavenly grace infused in Confirmation, the 
souls of the faithful may be easily preserved from the corrup- 
tion of sin. 

The chrism is consecrated with solemn ceremonies, by the Chrism, 
bishop. That this its solemn consecration is in accordance ^l^' 
with the instructions of our Lord, when at his last supper he a . nd by 
committed to his Apostles the manner of making chrism, we iy. ° P 

(15; Epist. 3. ad Episc. Orient. 

(16) Vid. Aug. in Ps. 44. vers. 9. et lib. 13. de Trinit. cap. 26. Greg, in 1. 
cap. can. Cone. Laod. cap. 48. et Carth. 2. c. 2. et 3. c. 39. Dionys. de Eccl. 
Hierar. c. 2. et 4. De oleo vide Ambr. in Ps. 118. et lib. de Spiritu Sancto, cap. 
3. Cyprian epist. 70. (17) Ps. exxxii. 2. 

(18) Ps. xliv. 8. (19) John, i. 16. (20) 2 Cor. ii. 15. 

24 



^= 



186 THE CATECHISM OF 

learn from Pope Fabian, a man eminently distinguished by his 
sanctity, and by the glory of martyrdom. (21) Indeed, reason 
alone demonstrates the propriety of this consecration ; for in 
most of the other sacraments, Christ so instituted the matter as 
to impart to it holiness ; it was not only his will that water 
should constitute the matter of the Sacrament of Baptism, 
when he said : " Unless a man be born again of water and the 
" Holy Ghost, he cannot enter the kingdom of God ;" (22) but 
he also, at his own baptism, imparted to it the power of sanc- 
tifying : " The water of baptism," says S. Chrysostome, " had 
" it not been sanctified by contact with the body of our Lord, 
" could not cleanse the sins of believers." (23) As, therefore, 
our Lord did not consecrate by using, the matter of Con- 
firmation, it becomes necessary to consecrate it by holy and 
devout prayer, which is the exclusive prerogative of bishops, 
who are constituted the ordinary ministers of this Sacrament. 
Form of The other component part of this Sacrament, that is to say, 
ment of™" * ts f° rm > comes next to be explained. The faithful are to be 
Confirma- admonished that when receiving Confirmation, they are on 
hearing the words pronounced by the bishop, earnestly to ex- 
cite themselves to sentiments of piety, faith, and devotion, 
that on their part no obstacle may be opposed to the 
heavenly grace of the Sacrament. The form of Confirmation 
consists of these words : " I sign thee with the sign of the 

" CROSS, AND I CONFIRM THEE WITH THE CHRISM OF SALVA- 
" TION, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SoN, 

" and of the Holy Ghost." Were we to acknowledge the 
incompetency of reason to establish the truth and strict pro- 
priety of this form, the authority of the Catholic Church, by 
which it has been at all times taught and recognised, would 
alone be sufficient to dispel all doubt on the subject : judging 
of it, however, by the standard of reason, we arrive at the 
same conclusion. The form of the Sacrament should embrace 
whatever is necessary to explain its nature and substance ; 
with regard to the nature and substance of Confirmation, there 
are three things that demand particular attention, the divine 

(21) S. Fab. papa, uti supra. (22) John, iii. 5. 

(23) Horn. 4. oper. imperf. et liabetur de consec. dist. 4. c. Nunquid. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 187 

power, which, as a primary cause, operates in the Sacrament ; 
the spiritual strength which it imparts to the faithful unto sal- 
vation; and lastly, the sign impressed on him who is to en- 
gage in the warfare of Christ. The words u in the name of the » 
" Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost," with which 
the form closes, sufficiently declare the first; the second is 
comprised in the words, " I confirm thee with the chrism of sal- 
" vation ;" and the words, " I sign thee with the sign of the 
" cross," with which the form opens, convey the third. 

To whom principally, is entrusted the administration of this The . bish_ 
r J op, its or- 

Sacrament, is a matter to which the pastor will also call the dinary mi- 
attention of the faithful. There are many, according to the ' 
prophet, who run and yet are not sent ; and hence the necessi- 
ty of informing the faithful who are its true and legitimate min- 
isters, in order that they may really receive the Sacrament and 
grace of Confirmation. (24) That bishops alone are the ordi- 
nary ministers of this Sacrament, is the doctrine of Scripture : 
we read in the Acts of the Apostles, than when Samaria had 
received the Gospel, Peter and John were sent to them and 
prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost : " for 
" he was not yet come upon any of them, but they were only 
baptised, in the name of the Lord Jesus." (25) Here we find 
that he who administered baptism, having only attained the de- 
gree of deacon, had no power to administer Confirmation; its 
administration was reserved to a more elevated order of the 
ministry, that is to the Apostles alone. Whenever the Sacred 
Scriptures speak of this Sacrament, they convey to us the 
same truth. We have also the clearest testimony of the Fa- 
thers, and, as may be seen in the decrees of their popes, of 
Urban, of Eusebius, of Damasus, of Innocent, and of Leo. In 
confirmation of the same doctrine, we may also add that S. Au- 
gustine loudly complains of the corrupt practice which pre- 
vailed in the Churches of Egypt and Alexandria in his day, a 
practice according to which, priests presumed to administer 
the Sacrament of Confirmation. (26) 

(24) Trid. sess. 23. c. 4. et can. 7. (25) Acts, viii. 14, 16. 

(26) Episcopum ministrum esse ordinarium Confirmationis tradunt Urbanus 
Papa Epist. ad omnes Christianos in fine ; Eusebius Papa Epist. 3. ad Episcop. 
TuicieB et Campanile ; Damasus Papa, Epist.4. ad Pros, et croteroi Episc. Orthod. 



^s 



188 THE CATECHISM OF 

Propriety To illustrate the propriety of restricting the exercise of this 

of restrict- . . r r -J °. 

ingConfir- function to the episcopal office, the following comparison may 
bishoiw. ° ^ e ^ oun( ^ n °t inappropriate. As in the construction of an edi- 
fice the artisans, who are inferior agents, prepare and dispose 
mortar, lime, timber, and the other materials ; whilst, howev- 
er, the completion of the work belongs to the architect ; so in 
like manner should Confirmation which is as it were the com- 
pletion of the spiritual edifice, be administered by no other 
than episcopal hands. 
A sponsor In Confirmation, as in Baptism, a sponsor is required. If 
and why. * ne gladiator who presents himself as a combatant, has occa- 
sion for the skill and address of a master, to direct him by 
what thrusts and passes he may, without endangering his own 
safety, dispatch his antagonist, how much more necessary to 
the faithful is a guide and instructor, when, sheathed as it 
were in the panoply of this Sacrament, they engage in the 
spiritual conflict, in which eternal salvation is to reward the 
Consequentsuccess of the victor. Sponsors, therefore are, with great pro- 
a nity ' priety, required in the administration of this Sacrament also ; 
and the same affinity which, as we have already shown, is con- 
tracted in Baptism, impeding the lawful marriage of the par- 
ties, is also contracted in Confirmation. (27) 
The faith- To pass over in silence those who have arrived at such a 
instructed degree of impiety, as to have the hardihood to contemn and 
in j h ^. age despise this Sacrament; since in receiving Confirmation itfre- 
sitions for quently happens, that the faithful betray inconsiderate precipi- 
tin. fma " tat i° n or unpardonable neglect, it is the duty of the pastor to 
make known the age and dispositions which its sanctity de- 
mands. 
Confirma- They are, in the first place, to be informed that this Sacra- 
• ^ed f or ment is not essential to salvation; but that although not essen- 
the use of ^ a i ft j s n0 f- therefore to be omitted : on the contrary, in a 

all the ' . J ' 

faithful, matter so holy, through which the gifts of God are so liberally 
bestowed, the greatest care should be taken to avoid all ne- 

circamed. Innocentius Papa Epist. 1. ad Veren. c. 3. Leo Papa Epist. 88. ad 
Germanae et Galliae Episc. Melchiades Papa, Epist. ad Episc. Hispanic. Cle- 
mens item Papa, Epist. 4. Concil Wormaciense, c. 8. et Florent. de Sacram. 
Horum summorum Pontificum Epist. habentur in tomis Conciliorum fere omnes 
in primo juxta cujusque aetatem. Vide insuper August, in qusest. novi Testam. 
quJEst. 4i. (-21) Trid. sess. 24. c. 2. de reform, matrim. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 189 

gleet ; and what God proposed for the common sanctification 
of all, all should desire with intense earnestness. (28) Des- 
cribing this admirable effusion of the Holy Spirit, S. Luke 
says : " And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of 
<c a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house, where 
H they were sitting:" and a little after, "and they were all 
" filled with the Holy Ghost." (29) From these words we 
may infer, that as the house in which they were assembled, 
was a type and figure of the church, the Sacrament of Con- 
firmation, which had its existence for the first time on that day, 
is intended for the use of all the faithful. This is also an easy 
inference from the nature of the Sacrament : Confirmation is 
necessary for those who have occasion for spiritual increase^ 
and hope to arrive at religious perfection ; but to this all should 
aspire, for as Nature intends that all her children should grow 
up and reach full maturity, although her wishes are not al- 
ways realised; so it is the earnest desire of the Catholic 
Church, the common mother of all, that those whom she has 
regenerated by Baptism, may be brought to perfect maturity 
in Christ. This happy consummation can be accomplished 
only through the mystic unction of Confirmation ; and hence 
it is clear, that this Sacrament is equally intended for all the 
faithful. 

It is to be observed, that the Sacrament of Confirmation The proper 
may be administered to all, as soon as they have been baptis- reception, 
ed ; but, until children shall have reached the use of reason, 
its administration is inexpedient. If not postponed to the age 
of twelve, it should therefore be deferred until at least that of 
seven. Confirmation has not been instituted as necessary to 
salvation ; but to enable us to be armed and prepared, when- 
ever we may be called upon, to fight for the faith of Christ ; 
and for this conflict no one will consider children, not yet ar- 
rived at the use of reason, fit subjects. 

From what has been said, it follows, that persons of mature Disposi- 
years who are to be confirmed, must, if they hope to receive receiving 
the grace of this Sacrament, not only bring with them faith il worthily 

(28) De consec. dist. 5. c. 2. et 3. item Cone. Aurel. c. 3. Hugo de sanct. 
Vict, de Sacram. lib. 2. p. 7. c. 39. (29) Acts, ii. 2. 4. 



90 



THE CATECHISM OF 



and devotion, but also be pierced with heartfelt compunction 
for the grievous sins into which they may have had the mis- 
fortune to fall. The pastor, therefore, will labour to induce 
them to have previous recourse to the tribunal of penance, 
will endeavour to excite them to fasting and other exercises of 
devotion, and will exhort them to the revival of that laudable 
practice of the ancient Church, of receiving the Sacrament of 
confirmation fasting. (30) To induce the faithful to enter into 
these dispositions would appear no difficult task, if they but 
learn to appreciate the blessings and extraordinary effects 
which flow from this Sacrament. 
Effects of The pastor therefore will teach, that in common with the 
confirma- ther sacraments, Confirmation, unless some obstacle be op- 

I. posed by the receiver, imparts new grace. We have already 
shown, that it is the property of these saered and mystic signs, 
at once to indicate and produce grace ; and as we cannot ima- 
gine grace and sin to coexist in the soul, it follows, as a neces- 
sary consequence, that it also remits sin. 

II. Besides these properties, common alike to this and the oth- 
er Sacraments, it is the peculiar characteristic of confirmation 
to perfect the grace, of baptism : those who are initiated into 
the Christian religion, share, as it were, the tenderness and in- 
firmity of new-born infants; but they afterwards gather 
strength from the Sacrament of chrism, to combat the assaults 
of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and are confirmed in 
faith to confess and glorify the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
From this last mentioned circumstance it arose, no doubt, that 
the Sacrament was distinguished by the name of confirmation. 

An error This its name is not, as some with equal ignorance and impiety 
have imagined, derived from the supposed circumstance of 
baptised persons, when grown to maturity, formerly present- 
ing themselves before the bishop to confirm their adherence 
to the faith of Christ, which they had embraced in baptism ; an 
opinion, according to which, confirmation would not seem to 
differ from catechetical instruction. Of such a practice no 
proof can be adduced, no vestige traced ; and this sacrament 
is called Confirmation, because by virtue of it, God confirms 

(30) D. Th. p. 3. q. 72. a. ad. 2 Cone. Aur. e. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 191 

in us what was commenced in baptism, and conducts to the 
perfection of solid Christian virtue. (31) 

Not only does this Sacrament confirm ; it also increases di- III. 
vine grace in the soul : " The Holy Ghost," says Melchiades, 
" who descends with salutary influence on the waters of bap- 
"tism, imparts the plentitude of grace to innocence: in eon- 
" firmation, the same Holy Ghost gives an increase of divine 
" grace, and not only an increase, but an increase after a won- 
" derful manner." (32) This extraordinary efficacy of con- 
firmation, the Scriptures beautifully express by a metaphor : 
" stay you in the city," says our Lord speaking of this Sacra- 
ment, " until you be endued with power from on high." (33) 

To show the divine efficacy of this Sacrament, (and this, ? ts efficacy 
no doubt, will have great influence on the minds of the faith- 
ful) the pastor has only occasion to explain the effects which 
it produced on the Apostles themselves. Before, and even at 
the very time of the passion, so weak and listless were they, 
that no sooner was our Lord apprehended, than they all fled ; 
(34) and Peter, who was destined to be the rock and founda- 
tion of the Church, and who had displayed an unshaken con- 
stancy, and an intrepid spirit to be dismayed by the appear- 
ance of no danger,(35)was so terrified at the voice of one weak 
woman, as to deny once, and again, and a third time, that he 
was a disciple of Jesus Christ. (36) Even after the resurrec- 
tion they remained, through fear of the Jews, shut up in a 
house, the doors being closed. (37) But how extraordinary 
the revolution ! On the day of Pentecost, filled with the grace 
of the Holy Ghost, they fearlessly, and in defiance of all dan- 
ger, proclaim the Gospel, not only through Judea, but through- 
out the world ; (38) they deem it the greatest happiness, to be 
thought worthy to suffer contumely, chains, tortures, and cru- 
cifixion itself, for the name of Christ. (39) 

Confirmation has also the effect of impressing a character ; IV. 
and hence, as we said before, with regard to baptism, and as 

(31) Trid. sess. 7. can. 1 de confir. 

(32) De cons. dist. 5. c. Spiritus. Euseb. Emis. hom. in die Pent. 

(33) Luke, xxiv. 49. (34) Matth. xxvi. 56. (35) Matth. xvi. 18-26. 51. 
(36) Matth. xxvi. 70. 72. 74. (37) John, xx. 19. 

(38) Acts, ii. 1. (39) Acts, v. 41. 



1 92 THE CATECHISM OF 

will be more fully explained in its proper place, with regard to 
orders, it is on no account to be administered a second time. 
If these things are frequently and accurately explained, it is al- 
most impossible that the faithful, knowing the utility and 
dignity of this Sacrament, should not use every exertion to 
receive it with piety and devotion. (40) 
Its rites ^he rites and ceremonies used in the administration of this 

and cere- 
monies ex- Sacrament, now remains lightly to be glanced at : the advan- 

P amed. ta g es f this explanation the pastor will at once see, by revert- 
ing to what we have already said on this subject, in its proper 
Unction of place. The forehead of the person to be confirmed is anointed 
head™" w ^ sacre d chrism ; for in this Sacrament the Holy Spirit 
pours himself into the souls of the faithful, and imparts to them 
increased strength and courage, to enable them, in the spiritual 
contest, to fight manfully, and to resist successfully their most 
implacable foes. They are therefore told, that henceforward, 
they are not to be deterred by fear or shame, feelings of which 
the countenance is the principal index, from the open confes- 
Sign of the sion of the name of Christ. (41) Besides, the mark by which 
cross. ^ christian is distinguished from all others, as the soldier is 
distinguished by his peculiar military badges, should be im- 
pressed on the forehead, the most dignified and conspicuous 
part of the human form. 
Why ad- The festival of Pentecost was also chosen for its solemn ad- 
at' Pente- ministration, because the Apostles were then strengthened and 
cost. confirmed by the power of the Holy Ghost ; (42) and also to 
remind the faithful, by the recollection of that supernatural 
event, of the number and magnitude of the mysteries contained 
in that sacred unction. 
The gentle The person, when confirmed, receives a gentle slap on the 
JjJJ the cheek from the hand of the bishop, to remind him, that as a 
courageous champion, he should be prepared to brave with 
unconquered resolution, all adversities for the name of Christ. 
The kiss Finally, he receives the kiss of peace, to give him to under- 
of peace. stan( j fa^ j ie h as b een blessed with the fulness of divine grace, 

(40) Confirmationem non esse iterandam, vide de Consec. dist. 5. c. dictum 
est, & cap. de hom. D. Thom. p. 3. q. 72. art. 5. 

(41) Rhaban. lib. 1. de instil, cleric, c. 30. et habetur de consec. dist. 5, c. 
noviss. Aug. in Ps. 141, D. Thom. 3. p. q. 71. art. 9. (42) Acts, ii. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 193 

and with that " peace which surpasseth all understanding." (43) 
These things will be found to contain a summary of the expo- 
sition to be given by the pastor on the Sacrament of confirma- 
tion ; but let them be delivered, not so much in the cold lan- 
guage of formal instruction, as in the burning accents of fer- 
vent piety ; so as to penetrate into the minds, and inflame the 
hearts of the faithful. 

(43) Phil. iv. 1. 



ON THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST. 



Of all the sacred mysteries bequeathed to us by our Lord, Dignity of 
as unfailing sources of grace, there is none that can be com- ri ^ matter 
pared to the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist : for no of frequent 

. . exposition, 

crime, therefore, is there reserved by God a more terrible to deter 
vengeance than for the sacrilegious abuse of this adorable Sa- abuse? 8 
crament, which is replete with holiness itself. (1) The Apos- 
tle illumined with wisdom from above, clearly saw and em- 
phatically announced these awful consequences, when having 
declared the enormity of their guilt, " who discern not the 
" body of the Lord," he immediately added, " therefore are 
" there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep." 
(2) That the faithful, therefore, deeply impressed with the 
divine honour due to this heavenly Sacrament, may derive 
from its participation, abundant fruit of grace, and escape the 
just anger of God, the pastor will explain with indefatigable 
diligence, all those things which seem best, calculated to dis- 
play its majesty. 

Following the example of S. Paul, who declares to the Co- Its institu- 
rinthians what he had received from the Lord, the pastor will tlon ' 

(1) Dionys. de Eccl. Hier. c. 6. et de consec. dist. c. 2. nihil in. 

(2) 1 Cor. xi. 30. 

25 



1 94 THE CATECHISM OF 

begin by explaining to the faithful the circumstances of its in- 
stitution : these he will find thus clearly recorded by the Evan- 
gelist — our Lord, who "having loved his own, loved them 
" to the end," (3) to give them some admirable and divine 
pledge of this his love, aware that the hour was come when he 
should pass out of this world to the Father, by an effect of wis- 
dom which transcends the order of nature, devised a means 
of being always present with his own. Having celebrated the 
feast of the paschal Iamb with his disciples, that the figure might 
give way to the reality, the shadow to the substance, " Jesus 
a took bread, and giving thanks to God, blessed and brake, 
" and gave to his disciples, and said, take ye and eat : This is 
" my body, which shall be delivered for you : this do for the 
" commemoration of me : and taking the chalice also after he 
"had supped, he said, this chalice is the New Testament in 
" my blood : this do, as often as you shall drink it in commem- 
" oration of me." (4) 
^"th 11 " Satisfied that language could supply no one word sufficient - 
Eucha- ly comprehensive to give full expression to the dignity and ex- 
cellence of this Sacrament, sacred writers have endeavoured 
to express it by a variety of appellations. It is sometimes call- 
ed " The Eucharist," a word which may be translated, " the 
" good grace," or " the thanksgiving :" the propriety of the 
one appears from two considerations : the Eucharist gives a 
foretaste of eternal life, of which it is written : " The grace of 
" God is life everlasting:" (5) it also contains Christ our Lord, 
the true grace, and the source of all heavenly gifts. The oth- 
er translation is no less appropriate, for when we offer this 
most spotless victim, we render to God a homage of infinite 
value, in return for all the benefits which we have received 
from his bounty, particularly, for the inestimable treasure of 
grace bestowed on us in this Sacrament. The word " thanks- 
" giving," also accords with the conduct of our Lord, when 
instituting this mystery : " Taking bread, he brake it, and gave 

(3) John, xiii. 1. 

(4) Matth. xxvi. 26. Mark, xiv. 22. Luke, xxii. 19. 1 Cor. xi. 24. De 
Euch. institutione vide Trid. sess. 13, c. 2, de Euch. Leo serm. 7, de Pass. c. 3, 
Euseb. Emiss. hom. 4, et habetur de consec. dist. 2. 1. quia, corpus. 

(5) Rom. vi. 23. 



rist. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 195 

" thanks." (6) David, too, contemplating the grandeur of this 
mystery, says, " He hath made a remembrance of his wonder- 
" ful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord • he hath giv- 
" en food to them that fear him;" (7) but he had premised 
these words of thanksgiving : " His work is praise and magni- 
" ficence." (8) 

It is also frequently called " The Sacrifice," of which we T , he . ^"" 

* J ' chanst de- 

shall treat more at large in the subsequent part of this exposi- signated 
tion. It is also called " Communion," a word borroAved from a p P ella- 
the Apostle, When he says: "The chalice of benediction which l }? ns '- " sa " 

1 ' J " cnfice," 

" we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? " commu- 
" And the bread which we break, is it not the participation of nion ' 
""the body of the Lord ?" (9) " This Sacrament," to use the 
words of Damascene, " unites us to Christ, and renders us par- 
" takers of his flesh, and of his divinity, reconciles us to each 
" other in the same Christ, and consolidates us as it were into 
"one body." (10) Hence it is also called the Sacrament of "The Sa- 
peace and charity ; giving us to understand how unworthy the "of p'eace 
name of Christians are they, who indulge in enmity; and that " ( and ?, ha " 
hatred, discord, and strife are to be banished the society of 
the faithful, as their worst enemies ; an obligation which be- 
comes still more imperative when we reflect that in the daily 
oblation of the sacred mysteries, we profess to study with 
watchful solicitude, to preserve peace and charity inviolate. 
Sacred writers also frequently call it " The Viaticum," as well " Viati - } 
because it is the spiritual food by which we are supported 
during our mortal pilgrimage ; as also, because it prepares for us 
a passage to eternal happiness and everlasting glory. Hence, 
in accordance with the ancient practice of the Church, none 
of the faithful are suffered to depart this life, without being 
previously fortified with this living bread from heaven. The "The Sup- 
name of " The Supper" has also been sometimes given to this per ' 

(6) Mark, xxvi. 26. Mark, xiv. 22. Luke xxii. 19. 1 Cor. xi. 24. 

(7) Ps. ex. 4, 5. 

(8) Ps. ex. 3. Chrysost. hom. 24. in 1. ad Cor. ad lisec verba, Calix benedic- 
tionis. Cypr. lib. de lapsis. Ambr. lib. 5, de Sacr. c. 3. D. Th. p. 3, q. 73, a. 4. 

(9) 1 Cor. x. 16. 

(10) Damasc. lib. 4, de fid. orthod. c. 4. Vid. Iren. lib. 5, c. 7, Chrys. hom. 
44 et 45 in Joan. Cyrill. in lib. 7. in Joan. c. 13. Cyrill. Hier. Catech. 4, Aug. 
Tract. 26, in Joan. Trid. sess. 13. de Euchar. in proef. Concil. Nicoen. 21, Cart. 
4, c. 77 et 26, q. 6, passim. 



196 THE CATECHISM OF 

Sacrament by the most ancient Fathers, in imitation of the 

Apostle, (11) because it was instituted by our Lord at the 

The Eu- saving mystery of The Last Supper. (12) This circumstance, 

beconse? which regards the time of its institution, does not however jus- 

crated and tify the inference that the Eucharist is to be consecrated or re- 
received, . . 
fasting, ceived by persons not fasting : the salutary practice ot conse- 
crating and receiving it fasting, introduced, as ancient writers 
record, by the Apostles, has always been observed in the 
Church. (13) 
A Sacra- Having thus premised an explanation of the names by which 
ment - this Sacrament is distinguished, the pastor will teach that it 
has all the qualities of a true Sacrament, and is one of the se- 
ven which have been at all times recognised and revered by 
the Catholic Church. Immediately after the consecration of 
the chalice, it is called " a mystery of faith ;" and to omit 
an almost innumerable host of sacred writers, vouchers of the 
same doctrine, that the holy Eucharist is a Sacrament is de- 
monstrated by the very nature of a Sacrament. It has sensi- 
ble and outward signs : it signifies and produces grace in the 
soul ; and all doubt as to its institution by Christ is removed 
by the Apostle and the Evangelists. These circumstances, 
combining as they do to establish the truth of the Sacrament, 
supersede the necessity of pressing the matter by further argu- 
ment. (14) 
The name That in the Eucharist there are many things to which sacred 
° f tt^Xv- writers have occasionally given the name of Sacrament, the 
en to ma- pastor will particularly observe : sometimes its consecration, 
in the Eu- sometimes its reception, frequently the body and blood of our 
charist, Lord which are contained in it, are called the Sacrament; be- 
plies to cause, as S. Augustine observes, this sacrament consists of two 
the species jjjings, fl^ visible species of the elements, and the invisible 
flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. (15) We also say 
that this Sacrament is to be adored, (16) meaning of course the 

(11) 1 Cor. xi. 20. (12) Cyhr.de ccena. Domini. (13) Aug. Epist. 188. c. 6. 

(14) Aug. lib. 3. de Trinit. cap. 4. et 1. 20, contra Faust, cap. 13, Ambr. lib. 
1. de sacram. cap. 2. Trid. sess. 13. de Euch. c. 5. D. Thorn. 3. p. q. 73. art. 1. 

(15) De Catec. erud. lib. 5, c. 16. August, hie ad sensum potius quam ad 
verba citatus ; sed lege hac de materia librum Lanfranci contra Berengarium : 
constat. 28, tantum capitibus: vide de consecr. dist. 2. fere tota. 

(16) Trid. sess. 15, de Euch. cap. 5, et can. 6. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 197 

body and blood of our Lord. But all these, it is obvious, ob- 
tain the name of Sacrament in its less strict sense : the species 
of bread and wine, strictly speaking, constitute the Sacrament. 

The great points of difference between this and the other The Eu- 
Sacraments are easily understood : the other Sacraments are ferefrom 
perfected by the use of their matter, that is, by their adminis- * he other 
tration; baptism, for instance, becomes a Sacrament, when the ments. 
ablution has been performed : the Eucharist is constituted a 
Sacrament by the sole consecration of the elements, and when 
preserved in a pyxis, or deposited in a tabernacle, under either 
species, it ceases not to be a Sacrament. In the material ele- ** 
ments of which the other Sacraments are composed, no change 
takes place ; in baptism, for instance, the water, in confirma- 
tion, the chrism, lose not in their administration, the nature of 
water and of oil ; whilst in the Eucharist, that which before 
consecration, was bread and wine, becomes, after consecra- 
tion, really and substantially the body and blood of our Lord. 

But although in the Eucharist the sacramental matter con- The Sa " , 

. cramental 

sists of two elements, that is of bread and wine ; yet, guided matter 
by the authority of the Church, we profess that they are ele- ^two ele- 
ments not of two, but of one Sacrament. This is proved bv ments > bu t 

o i-i constitu- 

the very number of the Sacraments, which, according to the tive of one 
doctrine of apostolic tradition, and the definitions of the Coun- Sacrament 
cils of Lateran, (17) Florence, (18) and Trent, (19) is confin- - 
ed to seven. It also follows from the nature of the Holy Eu- 
charist : the grace which it imparts renders us one mystic bo- 
dy ; and to accord with what it accomplishes, the Eucharist 
must constitute but one Sacrament — one, not by consisting of 
one element, but signifying one thing. Of this the analogy 
which exists between this our spiritual food, and the food of 
the body, furnishes an illustration. Meat and drink, although 
two different things, are used only for one object, the susten- 
ance of the body ; so should the two different species of the 
Sacrament, to signify the food of the soul, be significant of 
one thing only, and constitute therefore but one Sacrament. 
The justness of this analogy is sustained by these words of our 

(n) Ex Conciliis citatis Lateranense generate sub Innocent II. Non nume- 
rat quidem distincte septem Sacramenta, sed ex variis Canonib. satis clare colli- 
guntur. (18) Florent. in doct. de sacram. (19) Trid. sess. "I, can. I. 



1 98 THE CATECHISM OF 

Lord : " My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink in- 
deed. (20) 
The Eu- What the Sacrament of the Eucharist signifies, the pastor 
nifies three w *^ a ^ so carefully explain, that on beholding the sacred mys- 
things. teries, the faithful may also, at the same time, feed their souls 
on the contemplation of heavenly things. This Sacrament, then, 
is significant of three things — the passion of Christ, a thing past, 
I, divine grace, a thing present — and eternal glory, a thing future. 
It is significant of the passion of Christ: "This do," says our Lord 
" for a commemoration of me." (2 1 ) " As often," says the Apos- 
tle, " as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you 
" shall show the death of the Lord, until he come." (22) It 
is significant of divine grace, which is infused, on receiving 
this sacrament, to nurture and preserve the soul. (23) As by 
baptism we are begotten to newness of life, and by Confirma- 
tion, are strengthened to resist Satan and to profess openly the 
name of Christ ; so, by the Sacrament of the Eucharist, are 
III. we spiritually nurtured and supported. It is also significant 
of eternal glory, which, according to the divine promises, is 
reserved for us in our celestial country. These three things, 
distinguished as they are by different times, past, present, and 
future, the Holy Eucharist, although consisting of different 
species, marks as significantly as if they were but one. 
The mat- To consecrate the Sacrament validly, to instruct the faithful 
Sacrament m tnat °f wnicn it is the symbol, and to kindle in their souls an 
ardent desire of possessing the invaluable treasure which it 
signifies, it is of vital importance that the pastor make himself 
acquainted with its matter. The matter of this Sacrament is 
two-fold, consisting of wheaten bread and of wine pressed 
from the grape, mixed with a little water. The first element, 
then, (of the latter we shall treat hereafter) is bread : as the 
Evangelists, Matthew, (24) Mark, (25) and Luke, (26) testi- 
fy: " Christ our Lord," say they, " took bread into his hands, 
" blessed and brake it, saying, " this is my body ;" and ac- 
cording to St. John, he denominated himself bread in these 

(20) John, vi. 56. (21) Luke, xxii. 19. 

(22) 1 Cor. xi. 26. (23) Tertul. de Resur. carnis, c. 8. 

(24) Matth. xxvi. 26. (25) Mark, xiv. 22. (26) Luke, xxii. 19. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 1 99 

words : " I am the living bread that came down from hea- 
ven." (27) 

As, however, there are different sorts of bread, composed of The sacra- 
different materials, such as wheat, barley, pease, or made in ™ r ™a 
different manners, such as leavened and unleavened ; it is to be wheaten. 
observed that, with regard to the former, the sacramental 
matter, according to the words of our Lord, should consist of 
wheaten bread ; for when we simply say bread, we mean, ac- 
cording to common usage, wheaten bread." (28) This is 
also distinctly declared by a figure of the Holy Eucharist in 
the Old Testament : the Lord commanded that the loaves of 
proposition, which prefigured this Sacrament, should be made 
of " fine flour." (29) 

As, therefore, wheaten bread alone is the proper matter A,so > '"*" 
of this Sacrament, a doctrine handed down by Apostolic tra- 
dition, and confirmed by the authority of the Catholic Church; 
it may also be inferred from the circumstances in which the 
Eucharist was instituted, that this wheaten bread should be un- 
leavened. It was consecrated and instituted by our Lord, on 
the first day of unleavened bread, a time when the Jews were 
prohibited by the law, to have leavened bread in their hous- 
es. (30) Should the words of the Evangelist S. John, who Objection 
says that all this was done before the Passover, be objected,' 
the objection is one of easy solution : by " the day before the 
"Pasch," (31) St. John understands the same day, which the 
other Evangelists designate " the first day of unleavened 
" bread." He had for object, principally, to mark the natural 
day, which does not commence until sunrise : and the first natural 
day of the Pasch, therefore, being Friday, " the day before 
" the Pasch" means Thursday, on the evening of which the 
festival of unleavened bread began, and on which our Lord ce- 
lebrated the Pasch and instituted the Holy Eucharist. Hence, 
S. Chrysostom understands the first day of unleavened bread 
to be the day, on the evening of which the unleavened bread 

(27) John, vi. 41. Vide de consecr. dist. 2. c. I. et 2. et 55. ubi habes de hac 
materia decreta Alexandr. Pap. in 1. Epist. ad omnes Orthodoxos et Cypr. lib. 
2. Epist. 3. et Ambr. 1. 4. de Sacram. c. 4. vide etiam Iren. 1. 4. c. 34. etl. 5. 
c. 2. (28) D. Th. 3. p. 9. 74. c. 3. (29) Lev. xxiv. 5. 

(80) Matth. xxvi. 17. Mark, xiv. 12. Luke, xxii. 7. Vid. 1. 3. decretal, 
tit. de celebrat. Missarum, c. ult. ubi habes auctoritatem Honorii Pap. 3. 

(31) John.xiii. 1. 



200 THE CATECHISM OF 

was to be eaten. (32) The peculiar propriety of the conse- 
cration of unleavened bread, to express that integrity and pu- 
rity of heart, with which the faithful should approach this 
Sacrament, we learn from these words of the Apostle : " Purge 
" out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are 
" unleavened ; for Christ our Pasch is sacrificed. Therefore, 
" let us feast not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of 
"malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sin- 
" cerity and truth." (33) 
Unleaven- This property of the bread, however, is not to be consider- 
ed bread e( j so essential as that its absence must render the Sacrament 
tial. null : both sorts, leavened and unleavened, are called by the 

common name, and have each the nature and properties, of 
bread (34) No one, however, should on his own individual 
authority, have the temerity to depart from the laudable rite, 
observed in the Church to which he belongs ; and such depar- 
ture is the less warrantable in priests of the Latin Church, 
commanded, as they are, by authority of the supreme Pontiff, 
to celebrate the sacred mysteries with unleavened bread only. 
(35) With regard to the first element, of this Sacrament, this 
exposition will be found sufficiently comprehensive. We may, 
however, observe in addition, that the quantity of bread to be 
used is not determined, depending as it does upon the number 
of communicants, a matter which cannot be defined. 
The sec- We come next to treat of the second element of this Sacra- 
element, nient, which forms part of its matter, and consists of wine, 
wine of the presse( j f rom t] ie grape, mingled with a little water. That 

grape min- r ° l 7 ° 

gledwithaour Lord made use of wine, in the institution of this Sacra- 
lW e water ment, has been at all times the doctrine of the Catholic Church. 
He himself said: " I will not drink, henceforth, of this fruit of 
" the vine, until that day." (36) On these words of our Lord, 
S. Chrysostom observes: " Of the fruit of the vine, which 
" certainly produces wine not water ; as if he had it in view, 
" even at so early a period, to crush by the evidence of these 
" words the heresy which asserted that water alone is to be 
" used in these mysteries." (37) With the wine used in the 

(32) In Math. horn. 83. (33) 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. (34) Concil Florent. sess. ult. 

(35) Lib. 2. decret. de celebr. miss. c. final. 

(36) Matth. xxvi. 29. Mark, xiv. 25. (37) Horn. 83. in Matth. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 201 

sacred mysteries, the Church of God, however, has always 
mingled water, because, as we know on the authority of coun- 
cils and the testimony of S. Cyprian, our Lord himself did so ; 
(38) and also because this admixture renews the recollection 
of the blood and water which issued from his sacred side. 
The word water we also find used in the Apocalypse, to sig- 
nify the people, (39) and, therefore, water mixed with wine 
signifies the union of the faithful with Christ their head. This 
rite, derived from apostolic tradition, the Catholic Church has 
at all times observed. The propriety of mingling water with 
the wine rests, it is true, on authority so grave, that to omit 
the practice would be to incur the guilt of mortal sin ; howe- 
ver, its sole omission would be insufficient to render the Sa- 
crament null. But care must be taken not only to mingle wa- 
ter with the wine, but also to mingle it in small quantity ; for 
in the opinion of ecclesiastical writers, the water is changed 
into wine. Hence, these words of Pope Honorius ; " A per- 
" nicious abuse has prevailed, for a long time, amongst you, of 
" using in the holy sacrifice a greater quantity of water than of 
" wine ; whereas in accordance with the rational practice of 
" the Universal Church, the wine should be used in much 
f greater quantity than the water." (40) We have now treat- 
ed of the only two elements of this Sacrament ; and although 
some dared to do otherwise, many decrees of the Church just- 
ly enact that no celebrant offer any thing but bread and wine. 
(41) 

We now come to consider the aptitude of these two elements Peculiar 
to declare those things of which they are the sensible signs, thes^ele- 
In the first place they signify Christ, the true life of the world ; ments - 
for our Lord himself has said : " My flesh is meat indeed, and 
" my blood is drink indeed." (42) As, therefore, the body of 
our Lord Jesus Christ nourishes to eternal life, those who re- 
ceive it with purity and holiness, with great propriety is this 
Sacrament composed principally of those elements which sus- 
tain life ; thus giving the faithful to understand, that the soul is 
nurtured with grace by a participation of the precious body and 

(38J Cyp. lib. 1. epist. 3. Trid. sess. 22. de sacrif. miss. c. 7. et can. 9. 
(39) Apoc. xvii. 15. (40) Habetur 1. 3. Decretal, de col. miss. c. 13. 

(41) Vid. de consecr. dist. 2. c. 1, 2. et seq. (42) John, vi. 56. 

26 



202 THE CATECHISM OF 

D. blood of Christ. These elements serve also to prove the dog- 
ma of the real presence. Seeing, as we do, that bread and wine 
are every day changed by the power of nature, into human 
flesh and blood, we are, by the obvious analogy of the fact, the 
more readily induced to believe that the substance of the bread 
and wine is changed, by the celestial benediction, into the real 

III. body and blood of Christ. (43) This admirable change also 
contributes to illustrate what takes place in the soul. As the 
bread and wine, although invisibly, are really and substantially, 
changed into the body and blood of Christ, so are we, although 
interiorly and invisibly, yet really renewed to life, receiving in 

IV. the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the true life. Moreover, the 
body of the Church, although one, and undivided, consists of 
the union of many members, and of this mysterious union no- 
thing is more strikingly illustrative than bread and wine. Bread 
is made from many grains, wine is pressed from many grapes, 
and thus are we too, although many, closely united by this 
mysterious bond of union, and made as it were one body. 

The form The form to be used in the consecration of the bread, we 
in the con- now come *° explain ; not, however, with a view that the faith- 
secration f u ] should be taught these mysteries, unless necessity require 
bread, it, (a knowledge of them is obligatory on ecclesiastics alone) 
fronTscrip-b^ ^° obviate the possibility of mistakes on the part of the cel- 
ture; ebrant, through ignorance of the form; mistakes, were they to 
occur, as discreditable to the minister, as derogatory to the 
dignity of the divine mysteries. From the Evangelists Mat- 
thew and Luke, and also from the Apostle, we learn that the 
form of the Sacrament consists in these words: " this is my 
" body." We read that when they had supped, " Jesus took 
" bread, and blessed and brake and gave to his disciples, say- 
Fathere 6 " m o : take and eat, this is my body ;" (44) and this form of 
and Coun- consecration, made use of by Jesus Christ, has been uniformly 
and inviolably observed in the Catholic Church. The testi- 
monies of the Fathers in proof of its legitimacy, may be here 
omitted: to enumerate them would prove an endless task. 
The decree of the Council of Florence to the same effect, be- 

(43) Damas. 1. 4. defid. orthod. c. 14. 

(44) Matth..xxvi. 26. Mark, xiv. 22. Luke, xxii. 19. 1 Cor. xi. 24. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 203 

cause of easy access to all, it is also unnecessary to cite. The 
necessity of every other proof is superseded by these words of 
the Saviour : " This do for a commemoration of me." (45) 
This command of our Lord embraces not only what he did, 
but also what he said, and has more immediate reference to 
his own words uttered not less for the purpose of effecting, 
than of signifying what they effected. (46) 

That these words constitute the form is easily proved from from rea- 
reason alone. The form of a Sacrament is that which signifies son ' 
what is accomplished in the Sacrament : what is accomplished 
in the Eucharist, that is the conversion of the bread into the 
true body of our Lord, the words " this is my body" signify 
and declare : they therefore constitute the form. The words 
of the Evangelist, "he blessed," go to support this reasoning. 
They are equivalent to saying : " taking bread, he blessed it, 
" saying this is my body." (47) The words " take and eat," 
it is true, precede the words " this is my body," but they evi- 
dently express the use, not the consecration of the matter, and 
cannot, therefore, constitute the form. But although not ne- 
cessary to the consecration of the Sacrament, they are not, 
however, on any account, to be omitted. The conjunction " for" 
has also a place amongst the words of consecration ; otherwise 
it would follow that, if the Sacrament were not to be adminis- 
tered to any one, it would not, or even could not be consecrat- 
ed ; whereas, that the priest by pronouncing the words of our 
Lord, according to the institution and practice of the Church, 
truly consecrates the proper matter of the Sacrament, although 
it should afterwards happen never to be administered, admits 
not the least shadow of doubt. 

The form of the consecration of the wine, the other ele- The form 
ment of this Sacrament, is, for the reasons, assigned with re- i n the con- 
gard to the bread, necessary to be accurately known, and ^■^ tl ?° 
clearly understood by the priest. It is firmly to be be- proved 
lieved that the form of consecrating the chalice is compre- [ure ; Cnp " 

(45) Luke, xxii. 19. In decret de sacram. item Trid. sess. 13. c. 1. 

(46) Quod ad Patres attinet, vid. Amb. 1. 4. de sacram. c. 4, et 5. Chrys. horn, 
deprodit. Judse. Aug. 1. 3. deTrinit. c. 4. Iren. 1. 4. contr. hser. c. 34. Origr. 
lib. 8. contr. Celsum. Hesich. 1. 6. in Levit. c 22. Cyril. Alex, epist. ad Calo- 
sorum episcop. Tertul. 1. 4. contr. Marc, in Hier. epist. 1. 

(47) Matth. xxvi. 26. 



204 THE CATECHISM OF 

hended in these words : " this is the chalice of my blood 
" of the new and eternal testament : the mystery of 
" faith: which shall be shed for you, and for many 
" to the remission of sins " (48) These words are for the 
most part taken from Scripture. Some of them, however, 
have been preserved in the Church by apostolic tradition. 
The words "this is the chalice" are taken from S. Luke, (49) 
and are also mentioned by the Apostle. (50) The words that 
immediately follow, " of my blood, or my blood of the new tes- 
" tament, which shall be shed for you, and for many to the re- 
" mission of sins," are taken in part from S. Luke, (51) and in 
f rom tra di. part from S. Matthew. (52) The words " and eternal," and 
tion > also the words " the mystery of faith," have been transmitted 
to us by holy tradition, the interpreter and guardian of Catho- 
from rea- lie unity. Of the legitimacy of this form we cannot entertain 
a shadow of doubt, if we attend to what has been already said 
of the form used in the consecration of the bread. The form 
to be used in the consecration of this element, should, confes- 
sedly, consist of words signifying that the substance of the 
wine is changed into the blood of our Lord : this the words al- 
ready cited clearly declare ; and therefore, they alone exclu- 
sively constitute the form. 
Expresses They also express certain admirable fruits produced by the 
f hF te 6 /th D ^ 00< ^ °f Christ, which was shed on Calvary, fruits which be- 
biood of long in a special manner to this Sacrament. Of these one is 
t e avlour a( j m i ss i on i n t the eternal inheritance to which we have ac- 
*• quired a right by " the new and everlasting testament :" (53) 
II. another is admission to righteousness by " the mystery of faith," 
for " God hath proposed" Jesus " to be a propitiation through 
"faith in his blood, to the showing' of his justice, that he him- 
" self may be just, and the justifier of him, who is of the faith 
HI. " of Jesus Christ :" (54) a third is the remission of sin. (55) 
T f But as the words of consecration are replete with mysteries, 

of conse- and are most appropriate in their application to our present 
wTne^x- 6 subject, they demand a more minute consideration. When, 
plained, therefore, it is said: "This is the chalice of my blood," 

(48) Decretal. 1. 3 . de celeb, miss. c. 6. (49) Luke, xxii. 20. 

(50) 1 Cor. xi. 25. (51) Luke, xxii. 20. (52) Matth. xxvi. 28. 

(53) Heb. x. 20. xiii. 20. (54) Rom. iii. 25, 26. (55) Heb. ix. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 205 

(56) these words are to be understood to mean: " This is my 
" blood which is contained in this chalice." The mention of 
" the chalice," at the moment of its consecration, to be the 
drink of the faithful, is peculiarly appropriate : without its 
mention as the vessel in which it is contained, the words : 
" This is my blood," would not seem sufficiently to designate 
this supernatural species of drink. Next follow the words 
"of the New Testament ;" they are added to give us to under- 
stand, that the blood of the Saviour is not now given figura- 
tively, as in the Old Law, of which we read in the Apostle, 
that without blood a Testament is not dedicated ; (57) but re- 
ally and truly given, a prerogative peculiar to the New Testa- 
ment. Hence the Apostle says : " Therefore, Christ is the 
" mediator of the New Testament, that by means of his death, 
" they who are called may receive the promise of eternal in- 
" heritance." ( 58) The word " eternal" refers to the eternal 
inheritance, our title to which has been purchased by Christ 
the Lord, the eternal Testator. The words " mystery of 
faith," which are added, exclude not the reality, but signify 
that what lies concealed under the veil of mystery, and is far 
removed from the ken of mortal eye, is to be believed with the 
certainty of faith. Here, however, these words bear an im- 
port entirely different from that which they have when ap- 
plied to baptism. Here, the mystery of faith consists in this, 
that we see by faith the blood of Christ, veiled under the spe- 
cies of wine ; but baptism is properly called by us " the Sacra- 
" ment," by the Greeks, " the mystery of faith," because it 
comprises the entire profession of the faith of Christ. There 
is also another reason why the blood of our Lord is called 
" the mystery of faith." In its belief human reason experien- 
ces the greatest difficulties, because faith proposes to us to be- 
lieve that the Son of God, God and man, suffered death for 
our redemption, a death signified by the Sacrament of his 
blood. His passion, therefore, is more appropriately comme- 
morated here, in the words, " which shall be shed for the re- 
" mission of sins," than at the consecration of his body. The 
separate consecration of the blood places before our eyes, in 
more vivid colours, his passion, crucifixion, and death. The 

(56) Decret. 1. 3. de eel. Miss. c. 3. (57) ITeh. is. IS. (59) Heb. ix. 15. 



206 THE CATECHISM OF 

additional words, " for you and for many," are taken, some 
from S. Matthew, (59) some from S. Luke, (60) and under the 
guidance of the Spirit of God, combined together by the Cath- 
olic Church. They serve emphatically to designate the fruit 
and advantages of his passion. Looking to the efficacy of the 
passion, we believe that the Redeemer shed his blood for the 
salvation of all men ; but looking to the advantages, which 
mankind derive from its efficacy, we find, at once, that they 
are not extended to the whole, but to a large proportion of the 
human race. When, therefore, our Lord said : " for you," 
he meant either those who were present, or those whom he 
had chosen from amongst the Jews, amongst whom were, with 
the exception of Judas, all his disciples with whom he then 
conversed ; but when he adds, " for many," he would include 
the remainder of the elect from amongst the Jews and Gen- 
tiles. With great propriety therefore, were the words, for 
all, omitted, because here the fruit of the passion is alone spo- 
ken of, and to the elect only did his passion bring the fruit of 
salvation. This the words of the Apostle declare, when he 
says, that Christ was offered once, to take away the sins of 
many ; (6 1 ) and the same truth is conveyed in these words of 
our Lord recorded by S. John : " I pray for them, I pray not 
" for the world ; but for them whom thou hast given me, be- 
" cause they are thine." (62) The words of consecration also 
convey many other truths ; truths, however, which the pas- 
tor, by the daily meditation and study of divine things, and aid- 
ed by grace from above, will not find it difficult to discover. 
This sub- To return to those things, of which the faithful are on no 
tety to be account to be suffered to remain ignorant, the pastor, aware of 
judged of the awful denunciation of the Apostle against those who discern 

by faith 

not by the not the body of the Lord, (63) will, first of all, impress on the 
senses. mm( j s f the faithful, the necessity of detaching, as much as 
possible, their minds and understandings from the dominion of 
the senses, for were they, with regard to this sublime mystery, 
to constitute the senses the only tribunal to which they are to 
appeal, the awful consequences must be, their precipitation in- 

(59) Matth. xxvi. 28. (60) Luke, xxii. 20. (61) Heb. ix. 26. 

(62) John, xvii. 9. (63) 1 Cor. xi. 29. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 207 

to the extreme of impiety. Consulting the sight, the touch, 
the smell, the taste, and finding nothing but the appearances of 
bread and wine, the senses must naturally lead them to think, 
that this Sacrament contains nothing more than bread and wine. 
Their minds, therefore, are as much as possible to be with- 
drawn from subjection to the senses, and excited to the con- 
templation of the stupendous power of God. 

The Catholic Church, then, firmly believes, and openly pro- The words 
fesses that in this Sacrament, the words of consecration accom- cratiorTef- 
plish three things ; first, that the true and real body of Christ, fect three 
the same that was born of the Virgin, and is now seated at the i. ' 
right hand of the Father in heaven, is rendered present in the 
Holy Eucharist ; (64) secondly, that however repugnant it may pr. 
appear to the dictate of the senses, no substance of the elements 
remains in the Sacrament ; (65) and thirdly, a natural conse- In 
quence from the two preceding, and one which the words of 
consecration also express, that the accidents which present 
themselves to the eyes, or other senses, exist in a wonderful 
and ineffable manner without a subject. The accidents of bread 
and wine we see ; but they inhere in no substance, and exist 
independently of any. The substance of the bread and wine is 
so changed into the body and blood of our Lord, that they, al- 
together, cease to be the substance of bread and wine. 

To proceed in order, the pastor will begin with the first, The real 
and give his best attention to show, how clear and explicit are P rese nce 
the words of our Saviour, which establish the real presence of fromScrip- 
his body in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. When our Lord ure ' 
says : This is my body, this is my blood," (66) no man however 
ignorant, unless he labours under some obliquity of intellect, 
can mistake his meaning ; particularly if he recollect, that the 
words " body" and " blood" refer to his human nature, the 
real assumption of which by the son of God no Catholic can 
doubt. To use the admirable words of S. Hilary, a man not 
less eminent for piety than learning : " When our Lord himself 

(64) Vide Dionys. de Eccl. Hierarch. c. 3, Ignat. Epist. ad Smyr. Just. Apol. 
2, Iren. 1. 4, c. 34, et 1. 5. c. 2. Trid. sess. 13, c. 1, de Euch. 

(65) Cypr. de coena domini Euse. Emiss. horn. 5. de Pasch. Cyril. Hyeros. 
Catech. 1, 3, et4. Ambr. 1. 4, de Sacram. c. 4. Chrysost, hom. 83, in Matt.et 
60, ad pop. Antioch. 

(66) Matth. xxvi. 28. Mark, xiv. 22, 24. Luke, xxii. 19. 



208 THE CATECHISM OF 

" declares, as our faith teaches us, that his flesh is meat indeed, 
" what room can remain for doubt ?" (67) The pastor will also 
adduce another passage from Scripture in proof of this sublime 
truth : having recorded the consecration of bread and wine by 
our Lord, and also the administration of the sacred mysteries 
to the Apostles, by the hands of the Saviour, the Apostle adds : 
" But let a man prove himself, and so eat of that bread and 
" drink of the chalice, for he that eateth and drinketh unwor- 
" thily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning 
" the body of the Lord." (68) If, as heresy asserts, the Sa- 
crament presents nothing to our veneration but a memorial and 
sign of*the passion of Christ, why exhort the faithful, in Ian-* 
guage so energetic, to prove themselves ? The answer is obvi- 
ous: by the heavy denunciation contained in the words "judg- 
" ment," the Apostle marks the enormity of iiis guilt, who re- 
ceives unworthily, and distinguishes not from common food 
the body of the Lord, concealed beneath the eucharistic veil. 
The preceding words of the Apostle develope more fully his 
meaning : " the chalice of benediction," says he, " which we 
" bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? and the 
" bread which we break is it not the participation of the body 
"of the Lord?" (69) — words which prove to demonstration 
the real presence of Jesus Christ in the holy Sacrament of the 
Eucharist. 
From tra- These passages of Scripture, are, therefore, to be expound- 
ed by the pastor, and he will emphatically press upon the at- 
tention of the faithful, that their meaning, in itself obvious, is 
placed beyond all doubt by the uniform interpretation and au- 
thority of the Holy Catholic Church. That such has been at 
all times the doctrine of the Church, may be ascertained in a 
two-fold manner ; by consulting the Fathers who flourished 
in the early ages of the Church and in each succeeding century, 
who are the most unexceptionable witnesses of her doctrine, 
and all of whom teach in the clearest terms, and with the most 
entire unanimity, the dogma of the real presence ; and also by 
appealing to the Councils of the Church, convened on this im- 

(67) S. Hilar. 1. 8, de Trinitat. super ilia verba velut unum. 

(68) 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29. (69) 1 Cor. x. 16. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 209 

portant subject. To adduce the individual testimony of each 
Father would prove an endless task — enough that we cite, or 
rather point out a few, whose testimony will afford a sufficient 
criterion by which to judge of the rest. Let S. Ambrose first 
declare his faith : in his book on " the Initiated" he says, that 
the same true body of our Lord, which was assumed of the 
Virgin, is received in this Sacrament ; a truth which he de- 
clares is to be believed with the certainty of faith ; and in 
another place he distinctly tells us, that before consecration it is 
bread, but after consecration it is the flesh of Christ. (70) S. 
Chrysostom, another witness of equal fidelity and weight, pro- 
fesses and proclaims this mysterious truth, particularly in his 
sixtieth homily on those who receive the sacred mysteries un- 
worthily ; and also in his forty-fourth and forty-fifth homilies 
on S. John : '* Let us," says he, " obey, not contradict God, 
" although what he says may seem contrary to our reason and 
" our sight : his words cannot deceive, our senses are easily de- 
" ceived." (71) With the doctrine thus taught by S. Chrysos- 
tom, that uniformly taught by S. Augustine fully accords, par- 
ticularly when in his explanation of the thirty-third Psalm, he 
says : " To carry himself in his own hands, is impossible to 
" man, and peculiar to Christ alone : he was carried in his own 
" hands, when giving his body to be eaten, he said, This is my 
" body." (72) To pass by Justin and Irenaeus, S. Cyril, in his 
fourth book on S. John, declares in such express terms, that 
the body of our Lord is contained in this Sacrament, that no 
sophistry can distort, no captious interpretations obscure his 
meaning. Should the pastor wish for additional testimonies of 
the Fathers, he will find it easy to add the Hilaries, the Je- 
romes, the Denises, the Damascenes, and a host of other illus- 
trious names, whose sentiments on this most important subject 
he will find collected by the labour and industry of men emi- 
nent for piety and learning. (73) 

(70) Lib. 4. de Sacr. c. 4, et de iis qui myster. init. c. 9. vide et de consec. 
dist. 2, plurim. in locis. 

(71) S. Chrys. ad popul. Antioch. homil. 60 et 61. 

(72) Divus Augustinus in Psalm, xxxiii. Cone. 1 , a medio ad finem usque. Cy- 
ril. 1. 4, in Joan. c. 33, et 14, et lib. 1, c. 13. Inst. Apolog. 2, sub finem ad An- 
tonium Pium. 

(73) Iren. 1. 5, contra herretic. et 1. 5, in Joan. c. 34. Dionys. Eccles. Hier. c. 

27 



210 - THE CATECHISM OF 

Suncils Anotner means of ascertaining the belief of the Church on 
matters of faith, is the condemnation of the contrary doctrine. 
That the belief of the real presence was that of the universal 
Church of God, unanimously professed by all her children, is 
demonstrated by a well authenticated fact. When in the elev- 
enth century, Berengarius presumed to deny this dogma, as- 
serting that the Eucharist was only a sign, the innovation was 
immediately condemned by the unanimous voice of the Chris- 
tian world. The Council of Vercelli, convened by authority 
of Leo IX., denounced the heresy, and Berengarius himself re- 
tracted and anathematized his error. Relapsing, however, in- 
to the same infatuation and impiety, he was condemned by three 
different Councils, convened, one at Tours, the other two at 
Rome : of the two latter, one was summoned by Nicholas II., 
the other by Gregory VII. The general Council of Lateran 
held under Innocent III., further ratified the sentence ; and the 
faith of the Catholic Church, on this point of doctrine, was 
more fully declared and more firmly established in the Coun- 
cils of Florence and Trent. 
And con- If, then, the pastor carefully explain these particulars, his 
firmed by ] a b ors w ill be blessed with the effects of strengthening: the 

reason. ° o 

weak, and administering joy and consolation to the pious ; (of 
those who, blinded by error, hate nothing more than the light 
of truth, we waive all mention) and this two-fold effect will be 
more securely attained, as the faithful cannot doubt that this 
dogma is numbered amongst the articles of faith. Believing 
and confessing as they do, that the power of God is supreme, 
they must also believe, that his omnipotence can accomplish 
the great work which we admire and adore in the Sacrament 
II- of the Eucharist ; and again, believing as they do, the Holy 
Catholic Church, they must necessarily believe that the doc- 
trine expounded by us, is that which was revealed by the Son 
of God. 
The di ni- ^ ut notnui g contributes more to light up in the pious soul 
ty conifer- that spiritual joy, of which w r e have spoken ; nothing is more 
Church by fertile of spiritual fruit, than the contemplation of the exalted 

3, Hilar. 1. S, de Trinit. Hieron. epist. ad Damasccn. Damas. 1. 4, de orthod. 
fid. c. 14. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 211 

dignity of this most august Sacrament. From it we learn how the institu- 

ti r ■ fi xt • tionofthis 

great must be the perfection or the gospel dispensation, , un- Sacrament 
der which we enjoy the reality of that, which under the Mo- 
saic Law was only shadowed by types and figures. Hence S. 
Denis, with a wisdom more than human, says, that our Church 
is a mean between the synagogue and the heavenly Jerusalem, 
and participates of the nature of both. (74) The perfection of 
the Holy Catholic Church, and her exalted glory, removed 
only by one degree from heaven, the faithful cannot sufficient- 
ly admire. -In common with the inhabitants of heaven, we, 
too, possess Christ, God and man, present with us ; but they, 
and in this they are raised a degree above us, are admitted to 
the actual enjoyment of the beatific vision, whilst we, with a 
firm and unwavering faith, offer the tribute of our homage to 
the Divine Majesty present with us, not, it is true, in a manner 
visible to mortal eye, but hidden by a miracle of power, 
under the veil of the sacred mysteries. How admirably does 
not this Sacrament, also, display to us the infinite love of Je- 
sus Christ to man ! It became the goodness of the Saviour not 
to withdraw from us that nature, which he assumed for our 
sake, but to desire, as far as possible, to dwell permanently 
amongst us, at all times strictly verifying the words : " My de- 
" light is to be with the children of men." (75) 

Here the pastor will also explain to the faithful, that in this c , hri , st , 

x . * 1 whole and 

Sacrament are contained not only the true body of Christ, and entire, pre- 
all the constituents of a true body ; but also Christ whole and lament 
entire — that the word Christ designates the man-God, that is 
to say, one Person in whom are united the divine and human 
natures — that the Holy Eucharist, therefore, contains both, 
and whatever is included in the idea of both, the divinity and 
humanity whole and entire, the soul, the body and blood of 
Christ with all their component parts — all of which faith teach- 
es us are contained in the Sacrament. In heaven the whole 
humanity is united to the divinity in one hypostasis, or person, 
and it were impious, therefore, to suppose that the body of 

(74) De Eccl. Hierar. c. 3, p. 1. (75) Prov. viii. 31. 



212 THE CATECHISM OF 

Christ, which is contained in the Sacrament, is separated from 

his divinity. (76) 

In this Sa- The pastor, however, will not fail to observe, that in the 

som" 6 " ' Sacrament all are not contained after the same manner, or by 

f hing H ff" ^ e same e ^ cac y : some things, we say, the efficacy of conse- 

the words cration accomplishes; for as the words of consecration effectu- 

cratjorT" ate what they signify, sacred writers usually say, that what- 

some by ever the form expresses, is contained in the Sacrament by vir- 

concomi- 

tance. tue of the Sacrament ; and hence, could we suppose any one 

thing to be entirely separated from the rest, the Sacrament, 
in their opinion, would be found to contain solely what 
the form expresses. But, some things are contained in 
the Sacrament, because united to those, which are ex- 
pressed in the form; for instance, the words: "This is 
" my body," which comprise the form used to consecrate 
the bread, signify the body of the Lord, and hence, the 
body of the Lord is contained in the Eucharist, by virtue of 
the Sacrament. As, however, to the body are united his 
blood, his soul, his divinity, they too must be found to coexist 
in the Sacrament, not, however, by virtue of the consecration, 
but by virtue of the union that subsists between them and his 
body ; and this theologians express by the word " concomit- 
"ance." Hence it is clear, that Christ, whole and entire, is 
contained in the Sacrament; for when two things are actually 
united, where one is, the other must also be. Hence it also 
follows, that Christ, whole and entire, is contained under eith- 
er species, so that as under the species of bread, are contained 
not only the body, but also the blood and Christ entire ; so, 
in like manner, under the species of wine are contained not on- 
ly the blood, but also the body and Christ entire. These are 
The ele- matters on which the faithful cannot entertain a doubt. Wise- 
■eparatel7^y> nowever > was i* ordained that two distinct consecrations 
consecrat- should take place : they represent in a more lively manner, the 
passion of our Lord, in which his blood was separated from 
his body ; and hence, in the form, of consecration we comme- 
morate the effusion of his blood. The Sacrament is to be us- 

(■76) Vide de consec. dist. 2, multis in locis, item Amb. de iis qui myst. init. 
c. 9, D. T. p. 3. q. 76, art. 1. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 213 

ed by us as the food and nourishment of our souls ; and it was 
most accordant with this its use, that it should be instituted as 
meat and drink, which obviously constitute the proper food of 
man. 

The pastor will also inform the faithful, that Christ, whole Christ, 

• -i t -11 whole and 

and entire, is contained not only under either species, but. also entire in 

in each particle of either species : " Each," says S. Augustine, ^ e ££ r " 
" receives Christ the Lord entire in each particle ; he is not e jther spe- 
" diminished by being given to many, but gives himself whole 
" and entire to each." (77) This is also an obvious inference 
from the narrative of the Evangelists : it is not to be supposed 
that the bread used at the Last Supper was consecrated by our 
Lord in separate parts, applying the form particularly to each, 
but that all the sacramental bread then used, was consecrated 
in sufficient quantity to be distributed amongst the Apostles, at 
the same time and with the same form. That the consecration 
of the chalice also, was performed in the same manner, is ob- 
vious from these words of the Saviour : " Take and divide it 
amongst you/' (78) 

What has been hitherto said is intended to enable the pastor Transub- 
to show, that the body and blood of Christ are really and truly J^jjj 11011 
contained in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. That the sub-fr°m reason 
stance of the bread and wine does not continue to exist in the 
Sacrament after consecration, is the next subject of instruction 
which is to engage his attention ; a truth which, although well 
calculated to excite our profound admiration, is yet a necessa- 
ry consequence from what has been already established. If, 
after consecration, the body of Christ is really and truly pre- 
sent under the species of bread and wine, not having been 
there before, it must have become so by change of place— by 
creation — or by transubstantiation. It cannot be rendered pre- 
sent by change of place, because it would then cease to be in 
heaven, for whatever is moved must necessarily cease to oc- 
cupy the place from which it is moved. Still less can we 
suppose it to be rendered present by creation, an idea which 
the mind instantly rejects. In order that the body of our Lord 
be present in the Sacrament, it remains, therefore, that it be 

(77) August, de consec. dist. 2. c. singulis. (78) Luke, xxii. 17. 



214 THE CATECHISM OF 

rendered present by transubstantiation, and of course, that the 
substance of the bread entirely cease to exist. Hence our pre- 
Counciir decessors m tne faith, the Fathers of the general Council of 
of the Lateran, (79) and of Florence, (80) confirmed by solemn de- 
crees the truth of this Article. In the Council of Trent it 
was still more fully defined in these words : " If any one 
" shall say, that in the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist the 
" substance of the bread and wine remains, together with 
" the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be 
From "anathema." (81) The doctrine thus defined is a natural in- 
Scripture. f erence f r0 m the words of Scripture. When instituting this 
Sacrament our Lord himself said : " This is my body :" (82) 
the word " this" expresses the entire substance of the thing 
present ; and therefore, if the substance of the bread remained, 
our Lord could not have said : " This is my body." In S. 
John he also says: The bread that I will give is my flesh, for 
" the life of the world :" (83) the bread which he promises to 
give, he here declares to be " his flesh." A little after he 
adds : " Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink 
" his blood, you shall not have life in you ;" (84) and again, 
" My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (85) 
When, therefore, in terms so clear and so explicit, he thus calls 
his flesh " meat indeed," and his blood " drink indeed," he 
gives us sufficiently to understand, that the substance of the 
bread and wine no longer exists in the Sacrament. Whoever 
From the turns over the pages of the Holy Fathers, will easily perceive, 
testimony that, on the doctrine of Transubstantiation, they have been at 
theraf Fa " all times unanimous. S. Ambrose says : " you say, perhaps, 
" ' this bread is no other than what is used for common food :' 
" before consecration it is indeed bread ; but, no sooner are the 
" words of consecration pronounced, than from bread it be- 
" comes the flesh of Christ." (86) To prove this position more 
clearly, he elucidates it by a variety of comparisons and exam- 
ples. In another place, when explaining these words of the 

(10) Lateran. Concil. c. 1. 

(80, Flor. in epist. Eugenii IV. data ad Arm, & a Concilio approbata. 

(81j Trid. scss. 13, can. 4. 

(82^ Matth. xxvi. 26. Mark, xiv. 22. Luke, xxi. 18. 1 Cor. xi. 24. 

(S3) John, vi. 52. , 84) John, vi. 54. (85) John, vi. 56. 

(86) Lib. 4, de sacr. c. 4. et c. 5, c. 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 215 

Psalmist : " Whatsoever the Lord pleased he hath done in hea- 
" ven and on earth, (87) he says : " Although the species of 
" bread and wine are visible, yet faith tells us that after conse- 
" oration, the body and blood of Christ are alone there." (88) 
Explaining the same doctrine almost in the same words, S. Hi- 
lary says, that although externally it appear bread and wine, 
yet in reality it is the body and blood of the Lord. (89) 

Here the pastor will not omit to observe to the faithful, that The . Eu " 
we should not at all be surprised, if even after consecration, why call- 
the Eucharist is sometimes called bread : it is so called because after con- 
it bas the appearance and still retains the natural quality of secration - 
bread, which is to support and nourish the body. That such 
phraseology is in perfect accordance with the style of the Ho- 
ly Scriptures, which call things by what they appear to be, is 
evident from the words of Genesis, which say, that Abraham 
saw three men, when, in reality, he saw three angels ; (90) and 
the two angels also, who appeared to the Apostles after the as- 
cension of our Lord, are called not angels, but men. (91) 

To explain this mystery in a proper manner is extremely dif- The man- 

ficult. On the manner of this admirable conversion, the pas- w hi c h this 

tor, however, will endeavour to instruct those who are more conversion 
-."■'.-■ . is to be ex- 

advanced in the knowledge and contemplation of divine things : plained to 

those who are -yet weak may, it were to be apprehended, be ie peop e 
overwhelmed by its greatness. This conversion then, is so ef- 
fectuated that the whole substance of the bread and wine is 
changed by the power of God, into the whole substance of the 
body of Christ, and the whole substance of the wine, into the 
whole substance of his blood, and this, without any change in 
our Lord himself: he is neither begotten, nor changed, nor in- 
creased, but remains entirely and substantially the same. This 
sublime mystery S. Ambrose thus declares : " You see how effi- 
" cacious are the words of Christ ; if, then, the word of the Lord 
" Jesus is so powerful as to summon creation into existence, 
" shall it not require a less exercise of power, to make that sub- 
" sist, which already has existence, and to change it into ano- 
" ther thing ?" (92) Many other Fathers, whose authority is 

(87) Ps. cxxxiv. 6. (S8) Dc consec. dist. 2. c. omnia. 

(89) Hilar, de Trin. 1. 8, et de consec. dist. 2. cap. 28. (99) Gen. xviii. 2. 

(91) Acts, i. 10. vid. D. Thorn. 3, p. q. 75, art. 3 & 4. 

(92) D. Ambr. 1. 4. de sacr. c. 4. 



216 THE CATECHISM OF 

too grave to be questioned, have written to the same effect : 
" We faithfully confess," says S. Augustine, " that before 
"consecration it is bread and wine, the produce of nature; 
" but after consecration it is the body and blood of Christ, con- 
" secrated by the blessing." (93) " The body," says Damas- 
cene, " is truly united to the divinity, the body assumed of the 
" virgin ; not that the body thus assumed descends from hea- 
" ven, but that the bread and wine are changed into the body 
This con- " and blood of Christ." (94) This admirable change, as the 
propnate- Council of Trent teaches, the Catholic Church most appropri- 
transub- ate ^ ex P resses by tne word " transubstantiation." (95) When, 
stantiation in the natural order, the form of a being is changed, that change 
may be properly termed " a transformation ;" in like manner, 
when, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the whole substance 
of one thing passes into the whole substance of another, the 
change our predecessors in faith wisely and appropriately 

A mystery ca n ec l " transubstantiation." But according to the admonition 

not to be ° 

curiously so frequently repeated by the Holy Fathers, the faithful are 

into? G t0 b e admonished against the danger of gratifying a prurient 
curiosity, by searching into the manner in which this change 
is effected. It mocks the powers of conception, nor can we 
find any example of it in natural transmutations, nor even in 
the wide range of creation. The change itself is the object 
not of our comprehension, but of our humble faith ; and the 
manner of that change forbids the temerity of a too curious en- 
quiry. (96) 
The same ^he same salutary caution should also be observed by the 
salutary pastor, with regard to the mysterious manner in which the bo- 
again ne- dy of our Lord is contained whole and entire under the least 
cessary. p ar ticle of the bread. (97) Such inscrutable mysteries should 
scarcely ever become matter of disquisition. Should Christian 
charity, however, require a departure from this salutary rule, 
the pastor will recollect first to prepare and fortify his hear- 

(93) Citatur de consec. dist. 2, can. Nos autem. 

(94) Lib. 4, de orthod. fid. c. 14. 

(95) Trid. sess. 13, c. 4, et can. 2, et de consec. distinct. 2, c. panis. 

(96) Eccli. iii. 22. 

(91) D. Thorn, 3, p. q. 76, Trid. sess. 13, c. 3, et can. 3, et Florent. in de- 
eret. Eugen. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 217 

ers, by reminding them, that " no word shall be impossible 
with God." (98) 

The pastor will next teach, that our Lord is not in the Sacra- The body 
ment as in a place : place regards things, only inasmuch as they° pr e sg nt °- n 
have magnitude : and we do not say that Christ is in the Sacra- the Sacra- 

r i • n i-iii ment > not 

ment inasmuch as he is great or small, terms which belong to as in a 
quantity, but inasmuch as he is a substance. The substance of p ace ' 
the bread is changed into the substance of Christ, not into mag- 
nitude or quantity ; and substance, it will be acknowledged, is 
contained in a small as well as in a large space. The substance 
of air, for instance, whether in a large or in a small quantity, and 
that of water whether confined in a vessel or flowing in a river, 
must necessarily be the same. As, then, the body of our Lord 
succeeds to the substance of the bread, we must confess it to 
be in the Sacrament after the same manner, as the bread was 
before consecration : whether the substance of the bread was 
present in greater or less quantity is a matter of entire indif- 
ference. 

We now come to the third effect produced by the words of The acci- 
consecration, the existence of the species of bread and wine in ^ninthe 
the Sacrament without a subject, an effect as stupendous as it Eucharist 

. . . without a 

is admirable. What has been said in explanation of the two subject, 
preceding points, must facilitate the exposition of this myste- 
rious truth. We have already proved that the body and blood 
of our Lord are really and truly contained in the Sacrament, to 
the entire exclusion of the substance of the bread and wine : 
the accidents cannot inhere to the body of Christ ; they must 
therefore, contrary to the physical laws, subsist of themselves, 
inhering in no subject. This has been, at all times, the doc- 
trine of the Catholic Church; and the same authorities by 
which we have already proved, that the substance of the bread 
and wine ceases to exist in the Eucharist, go to establish 
its truth. (99) But it becomes the piety of the faithful, Duties of 
omitting subtile disquisitions, to revere and adore in the sim- P iet ? t0 ~ 
plicity of faith, the majesty of this august Sacrament ; and Sacrament 
with sentiments of gratitude and admiration, to recognise 
the wisdom of God in the institution of the holy mysteries, un- 

(98) Luke, i. 37. 

(99) Vid. de consecr. dist. 2, c. Nos autem et Decretal, lib. 1, tit. de celeb. 
Miss. e. cum Matth. et D. Th. 3, p. q. 75, a. 3. et q. 77, a. 1. 

28 



218 THE CATECHISM OF 

The Eu- der the species of bread and wine. To eat human flesh, or to 
why insti- drink human blood, is most revolting to human nature, and, 
dertiie 11 " tnere f° re > has God, in his infinite wisdom, established the ad- 
forms of ministration of the body and blood of Christ, under the forms 
w ; ne . of bread and wine, the ordinary and agreeable food of man. 
From its administration under these forms, also flow two other 
important advantages ; it obviates the calumnious reproaches 
of the unbeliever, to which a manducation of the body and 
blood of our Lord, under human form, must be exposed ; whilst, 
by receiving him under a form in which he is impervious to 
the senses, our faith is augmented, "which," as S. Gregory 
observes, " has no merit in those things, which fall under the 
"jurisdiction of reason." (100) But what has been hitherto 
said on this subject, demands much prudent precaution in its 
exposition ; and in this the pastor will be guided by the capa- 
city of his hearers, by times and circumstances. 
The salu- With regard to the salutary effects of this Sacrament, these, 

tary effects. , J _ , , , ' 

of the Eu- because most necessary to be known by all, the pastor willex- 
be'YullV P oun d to a ^j indiscriminately and without reserve. (101) 
explained What we have said at such length on this subject, is to be 
how. ' made known to the faithful, principally with a view to make 
them sensible of the advantages which flow from its participa- 
tion, advantages too numerous and important to be expressed 
in words, and amongst which the pastor must be content to se- 
lect one or two points for explanation, to show the superabun- 
I. ant graces with which the holy mysteries abound. To this end 
it will be found conducive, to premise an explanation of the na- 
ture and efficacy of the other Sacraments, and then compare 
the Eucharist to the living fountain, the other Sacraments to 
so many rivulets. With great truth is the Holy Eucharist 
called the fountain of all grace, containing as it does, after an 
admirable manner, the source of all gifts and graces, the au- 
thor of all the Sacraments, Christ our Lord, from whom as 
from their source, they derive all their goodness and perfec- 

(100) Horn. 26, super Evangelia, vid. Cyril], lib. 4, in Joan. c. 22, Cypr. de 
Coena Domini. Ambr. de Sacram. 1. 4, c. 4, Aug. Tract. 27, in Joan. D. Thorn, 
p. 3, q. 74, a. 1, et q. 75, a. 1. 

(101) Trid. sess. 13, c. 3, et can. 5, Iren. 1. 4. c. 14, Cyril. 1. 4. in Joan. c. 
11 et 14. Chrysost. hom. 45, in Joan. D. Thorn. 3, p. q. 79. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 219 

tion. This comparison, therefore, serves to show how great 
are the treasures of grace, which are derived from this Sacra- 
ment. 

It will also be found expedient to consider attentively the n. 
nature of bread and wine, the symbols of this Sacrament : what 
bread and wine are to the tody, the Eucharist is, in a superi- 
or order, to the health and joy of the soul. It is not, like 
bread and wine, changed into our substance; but, in some 
measure, changes us into its own nature, and to it we may ap- 
ply these words of S. Augustine : "I am the food of the 
" grown : grow and thou shalt partake of this food ; nor shalt 
" thou change me into thee, as thou dost thy corporal food, 
"but thou shalt be changed into me." (102) If then "grace . I- 
"and truth come by Jesus Christ," (103) these spiritual trea- gra ce. 
sures must be poured into that soul, which receives with puri- 
ty and holiness, him who says of himself : " He that eateth my 
" flesh and drinketh my blood, abideth in me and I in him." 
(104) Those who piously and religiously receive this Sacra- 
ment, receive, no doubt, the Son of God into their souls, and 
are united, as living members, to his body ; for it is written : 
" He that eateth me, the same also shall live by me;" (105) 
and also : " The bread that I will give is my flesh, for the* life 
"of the world." (106) Explaining these words of the Sa- 
viour, S. Cyril says: " The Eternal Word, uniting himself to 
"his own flesh, imparted to it a vivifying power ; it became him, 
" therefore, to unite himself to us after a wonderful manner, 
" through his sacred flesh and precious blood, which we re- 
" ceive in the bread and wine, consecrated by his vivifying 
"benediction." (107) 

But when it is said, that this Sacrament imparts erace, it is To com - 

1 ° ' municate 

not intended to mean that, to receive this Sacrament with ad- worthily 
vantage, it is unnecessary to be previously in the state of grace. ^i™ the 
Natural food can be of no use to a person who is already dead, state of 
and in like manner the sacred mysteries can avail him nothing, 
who lives not in spirit. Hence this sacrament has been insti- 
tuted under the forms of bread and wine, to signify that the ob- 

(102) Lib. 7. Conf. c. 10. Vid. Ambr. 1. 5. de sacr. c. 4. et Crys. hom. 45. in 
Joan. (103) John, i. 17. (104) John, vi. 57. (105) John, vi. 58. 
(106) John, vi. 52. (107) Lib. 4. in Joan, c. 12, 14.etep. 10. ad Nestor. 



220 THE CATECHISM OF 

ject of its institution is not to recall to life a dead soul, but to 
preserve life to a living one. We say that this Sacrament im- 
parts grace, because even the first grace, which all should have 
before they presume to approach this Sacrament, lest they " eat 
" and drink judgment to themselves," (108) is given to none 
unless they desire to receive the Hbly Eucharist, which is the 
end of all the Sacraments, the symbol of ecclesiastical unity, 
to which he who does not belong, cannot receive divine grace. 
Again, as the body is not only supported but increased by na- 
tural food, from which we derive new pleasure every day ; so 
also the life of the soul is not only sustained but invigorated by 
feasting on the Eucharistic banquet, which imparts to it an in- 
creasing zest for heavenly things. With strictest truth and 
propriety, therefore, do we say that this Sacrament, which 
may be well compared to manna, " having in it all that is de- 
" licious, and the sweetness of every taste," imparts grace to 
the soul. (109) 

II. That the Holy Eucharist remits lighter offences, or, as they 
charist U re- are commonly called, venial sins, cannot be matter of doubt, 
mits venial Whatever losses the soul sustains by falling into some slight of- 
fences, through the violence of passion, these the Eucharist, 
which cancels lesser sins, repairs in the same manner, not to 
depart from the illustration already adduced, that natural food, 
as we know from experience, gradually repairs the daily 
waste caused by the vital heat of the system. Of this heaven- 
ly Sacrament justly therefore, has S. Ambrose said : " This 
" daily bread is taken as a remedy for daily infirmity." (110)' 
This however, is to be understood of venial imperfections on- 

III. The Holy Eucharist is also an antidote against the conta- 
dote ant '" gi° n °f s * n ' anc * a B kield a o & i nst tne violent assaults of tempta- 
against tioii. (Ill) It is, as it were, a heavenly medicine, which se- 
gion^fsin". cures the soul against the easy approach of virulent and deadly 

infection. S. Cyprian records that when, in the early ages of 

(108) 1 Cor. xi. 29. (109) Wisd. xvi. 20. 

(110) Lib. 4. de Sacram. c. 6. et 1. c. 4. Innocent. III. 1. 4. de myst. Miss. c. 
44. Cyrill. lib. 4. in Joan, c. 17. et lib. 3. c. 36. Inter, opera D. Bernardi habe- 
tur cujusdam sermo domini, quiincipit: PANEM ANGELORUM, et singu- 
lars est de Euchar. videatur, et D. Thom. 3. p. q. 79. 

(111) Aug. tract. 26. in Joan. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 221 

the Church, Christians were hurried in multitudes by tyrants, 
to torments and death, because they professed the name of 
Christ, they received, from the hand of the bishop, the Sacra- 
ment of the body and blood of our Lord, lest, perhaps, over- 
come by excess of torments, they should yield in the saving 
conflict. (112) It also represses the licentious desires of the „ IV - 

. . . ... Represses 

flesh, and keeps them in due subjection to the spirit: in pro- concupis- 
portion as it inflames the soul with the fire of charity, in the cence ' 
same proportion does it necessarily extinguish the fire of con- 
cupiscence. Finally, to narrow within the compass of a few v. 
words all the advantages and blessings which emanate from f^^n- 
this Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist facilitates to an extraordi- ment of . 
nary degree, the attainment of eternal life : " He that eateth 
" my flesh, and drinketh my blood," says the Redeemer, "hath 
"everlasting life, and J will raise him up on the last day." (11 3) 
The grace which it imparts, brings peace and tranquility to 
the soul ; and when the hour shall have arrived in which he is 
to take his departure from this mortal life, like another Elias, 
who in the strength of his miraculous repast, walked to Ho- 
reb the mount of God, (114) the Christian, invigorated by the 
strengthening influence of this heavenly food, shall wing his 
way to the mansions of everlasting glory and never-ending 
bliss. All these important particulars the pastor will be able These ef- 
fully to expound to the faithful, if he but dilate on the sixth pained" 
chapter of S. John, in which are developed the manifold ef- and i ] lus " 
fects of this Sacrament; or if, glancing through the life and 
actions of our Lord, he shows that if they who received him 
beneath their roof during his mortal life, (115) or were restor- 
ed to health by touching his vesture,, or even the hem of his 
garment, (116) were justly deemed happy, how much more 
happy we, into whose souls, resplendent as he is with unfading 
glory, he disdains not to enter, to heal all our spiritual wounds, 
to enrich us with his choicest gifts, and to unite us to himself •' 

But to excite the faithful to emulate better gifts, (117) the The man- 
pastor will also point out who they are, who derive these ines-^® bating 

threefold : 

(112) Lib. I. Epist. 2. ad Cornel. 

(113) John, vi. 55. Vid. Chrys. de sacerdotio, dial. c. D. Thorn. 3. p. q. 19. 
art. 2. (114) 3 Kings, xix. 8. (115) Luke, xix. 9. 

(116)Matth. xiv. 36, &ix. 20. (117) 1 Cor. xii. 31. 



222 THE CATECHISM OF 

timable blessings from a participation of the holy mysteries, re- 
minding them that Christians may communicate differently and 
with different effects. Hence our predecessors in the faith, as 
we read in the council of Trent, (118) distinguish three classes 
Sacramen- f communicants — Some receive the Sacrament only ; such are 
those sinners who dread not to approach the holy mysteries 
with polluted lips and depraved hearts, who, as the Apostle 
says, " eat and drink unworthily." (119) Of this class of com- 
municants S. Augustine says : ( ' He who dwells not in Christ, 
" and in whom Christ does not dwell, most certainly eats not 
" spiritually his flesh, although carnally and visibly he press 
" with his teeth the Sacrament of his flesh and blood." (120) 
Not only, therefore, do those who receive the Holy Eucharist 
with these dispositions, obtain no fruit from its participation ; 
but, as the Apostle says, " they eat and drink judgment to 
Spiritually" themselves." (121) Others are said to receive the Holy Eu- 
charist in spirit only : they are those who, inflamed with a live- 
ly u faith that worketh by charity," (122) participate in desire 
of this celestial food, from which they receive, if not the en- 
Sacramen- tire, at least very considerable fruit. Lastly there are some 
spiritual! w ^° recerve tne Holy Eucharist both spiritually and sacra- 
mentally, those who, according to the advice of the Apostle, 
having first proved themselves, (123) approach this divine ban- 
quet, adorned with the nuptial garment, (124) and derive from 
it all those superabundant graces which we have already men- 
tioned. Those therefore, who, having it in their power to 
receive, with due preparation, the Sacrament of the body and 
blood of the Lord, are yet satisfied with a spiritual communion 
only, manifestly deprive themselves of a heavenly treasure of 
inestimable value. 
Necessity \y e now come to point out the manner in which the faithful 
preparationshould be previously prepared for sacramental communion. 
To demonstrate the necessity of this previous preparation, the 
example of the Saviour is to be proposed to the faithful. Be- 
fore he gave to his Apostles the Sacrament of his body and 
blood, although they were already clean, he washed their feet, 

(118) Deconsecr. dist. 2. can. 46. sess. 13. cap. S. (119) 1 Cor. xi. 29. 

(120) In Joan, tract. 16. et contra Donat. lib. 5. c. S. (121)1 Cor. xi. 29. 
(122) Gal. v. 6. (123) 1 Cor. xi. 2S. (124) Matth. xxii. 11. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 223 

to declare that we must use extreme diligence to bring with us 
to its participation the greatest integrity and innocence of soul. 
In the next place, the faithful are to understand, that as he who 
approaches thus prepared and disposed, is adorned with the 
most ample gifts of heavenly grace, so on the contrary, he who 
approaches without this preparation and without these dispo- 
sitions, not only derives from it no advantage, but plunges his 
own soul into the most unutterable misery. It is the property 
of the best and most salutary medicine, if seasonably applied, 
to be productive of the greatest benefit, but if unseasonably, to 
prove most pernicious and destructive. It cannot, therefore, 
excite our surprise, that the great and exalted gifts of God, 
when received into a soul properly predisposed, are of the 
greatest assistance towards the attainment of salvation ; whilst 
to those who receive them without these necessary dispositions, 
they bring with them eternal death. Of this, the Ark of thelllustration 
Lord affords a convincing illustration : the people of Israel pos- 
sessed nothing more precious ; it was to them the source of in- 
numerable blessings from God ; but, when borne off by the 
Philistines, it brought on them a most destructive plague and 
the heaviest calamities, heightened, as they were, by eternal 
disgrace. (125) Food when received into a healthy stomach 
nourishes and supports the body ; but the same food, when re- 
ceived into a stomach replete with peccant humours, generates 
malignant disease. (126) 

The first preparation, then, which the faithful should make, First prep- 
is to distinguish table from table, this sacred table from pro- 
fane tables, (127) this celestial bread from common bread. 
This we do when we firmly believe, that the Eucharist really 
and truly contains the body and blood of the Lord, of him 
whom the angels adore in heaven, " at whose nod the pillars 
"of heaven fear and tremble," (128) of whose glory the hea- 
vens and the earth are full. (129) This is to discern the body 
of the Lord, in accordance with the admonition of the Apostle, 

(125) 1 Kings, v. toto. 

(126) De praeparatione ad Euch. requisita vide Trid. sess. 13. c. 7. et can. 11. 
Basil, q. 172. regul. brev. et serm. 2, de bapt. Cyprian, toto fere lib. de Lapsis, 
agendo de Poenit. Aug. serm. 1. de Temp. Chrys. horn. 44, 45, 46. in Joan, et 
in Matth. hom. 83. 

(127) 1 Cor. x. 21. (128) Job, xxvi. 11. (129) Isa. vi. 3. 



224 THE CATECHISM OF 

(130) venerating rather, the greatness of the mystery, than too 

Second, curiously investigating its truth by idle disquisition. Another 
very necessary preparation is to ask ourselves, if we are at 
peace with, if we sincerely and from the heart love, our neigh- 
bour. " If, therefore, thou offerest thy gift at the altar, and 
" there rememberest, that thy brother hath aught against thee, 
"leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be 
" reconciled to thy brother, and then coming thou shalt offer 

Third, " thy gift." (131) We should in the next place, carefully ex- 
amine our consciences, lest perhaps they be defiled by mortal 
guilt, which sincere repentance alone can efface. This se- 
vere scrutiny is necessary in order to cleanse the soul from its 
defilement, by applying to it the salutary medicine of contri- 
tion and confession. The Council of Trent has defined, that 
no one conscious of mortal sin, and having an opportunity of 
recurring to a confessor, however contrite he may deem him- 
self, is to approach the Holy Eucharist, until he has been pu- 

Fourth. r ified by sacramental confession. (132) We should also re- 
flect in the silence of our own hearts, how unworthy we are 
that God should bestow on us this divine gift, and with the 
Centurion, of whom our Lord declared, that he found not " so 
"great faith in Israel," we should exclaim: "Lord, I am not 

Fifth ' " worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof." (133) We 
should also put the question to ourselves, whether we can truly 
say with Peter : " Lord thou knowest that I love thee ;" (134) 
and should recollect, that he who sat down at the marriage 
feast without a nuptial garment, was cast into exterior dark- 
ness, and condemned to eternal torments. (135) 

Sixth. Our preparation should not, however, be confined to the 

soul ; it should also extend to the body. We are to approach 
the Holy Eucharist fasting, having neither eaten nor drunk, at 
least from the preceding midnight. (136) The dignity of so 
great a Sacrament also demands, that married persons abstain 
from the marriage-debt, for some days previous to communion, 

(130) 1 Cor. xi. 29. (131) Matth. v. 24, 25. 

(132) Sess. 13. can. 11. Chrys. hom. 30, in Genes, et 20. in Matth. Cypr. in 
lib. de Lapsis. 

(133) Matth. viii. 8, 10. (134) John, xxi. 15. (I 35 ) Matth. xxii. 12, 13. 
(136) Vid. Aug. epist. 118. c. 6. et lib. 1. ad inquis. Januarii c. 6. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 225 

an observance recommended by the example of David, who, 
when about to receive the show-bread from the hands of the 
priest, declared, that he and his servants had been " clean from 
" women for three days." (137) These particulars contain a 
summary of the principal things to be observed by the faith- 
ful, preparatory to receiving the sacred mysteries ; and to these 
heads may be reduced, whatever other preparations piety will 
suggest to the devout communicant. (138) 

But that none may be deterred by the difficulty of the pre- A11 bound 
. to commu- 

paration from approaching the Holy Eucharist, the faithful are nicate 

frequently to be reminded that they are all bound to receive °°™ * t 
this Sacrament ; and that the Church has decreed that whoe- Easter. 
ver neglects to approach the holy communion once a year, at 
Easter, subjects himself to sentence of excommunication. (139) 
However, let not the faithful imagine that it is enough to re- Impor- 
ceive the body of the Lord once a year only, in obedience to fa^^t 
the decree of the Church : they should approach oftener ; but commu- 
whether monthly, weekly, or daily, cannot be decided by any m ° n 
fixed universal rule. S. Augustine, however, lays down a 
most certain rule applicable to all — " Live," says he, " in such 
" a manner as to be able to receive every day." (140) It will 
therefore be the duty of the pastor frequently to admonish the 
faithful, that as they deem it necessary to afford daily nutri- 
ment to the body, they should also feel solicitous to feed and 
nourish the soul every day with this heavenly food. The soul 
stands not less in need of spiritual, than the body of corporal 
food. Here it will be found most useful to recapitulate the in- 
estimable advantages which, as we have already shown, flow 
from sacramental communion, and the manna also which was 
a figure of this Sacrament, and of which the Israelites had oc- 
casion to partake every day, may be used as a further illustra- 
tion. (141) The Fathers, who earnestly recommended the fre- 
quent participation of this Sacrament, may be adduced as addi- 
tional authority to enforce the necessity of frequent communion ; 

(137) 1 Kings, xxi. 3, 4, 5. 

(138) Greg, in responsione 10. ad interrog. Aug. et hab. 33. q. 4, c. 7. Aug, 
serm. 2. de temp, et 2, 4. 

(139) Concil. Lat. c. 28. ethabetur J. 5. Decret. tit. de Pcenit. et remiss, cap. 
omnis utriusque sexus. Trid. sess. 13, 9. 

(140) S. Aug. de verbis Domini, ser. 28. qui desumptus est ex. Amb. I. 5. de 
sacram. e. 4. (141) Exod. xvi. 21, 22. 

29 



226 THE CATECHISM OF 

and the words, " thou sinnest daily, receive daily," convey the 

sentiments not alone of S. Augustine, but of all the Father 8 

who have written on the subject. (142) 

Daily com- That there was a time when the faithful approached the 

the^prac- Holy Communion every day, we learn from the Acts of the 

tice of the Apostles. All who then professed the faith of Christ, burned 

ancient . 

Church, with such pure and ardent charity, that devoting themselves, 
as they did unceasingly, to prayer and other works of piety, 
(143) they were found prepared to communicate daily. This 
devout practice which seems to have been interrupted for a 
time, was again partially revived by Pope Anacletus, a most 
holy martyr, who commanded, that all the ministers who as- 
sisted at the holy sacrifice, should communicate, an ordinance, 
as the Pontiff declares, of Apostolic institution. (144) It was 
also for a long time the practice of the Church, that, as soon 
as the sacrifice was ended, the priest, turning to the congre- 
gation, invited the faithful to the holy table in these words : 
"Come, brethren, and receive the communion;" and those who 
were prepared, advanced to receive the holy mysteries with 
Thrice a hearts animated by the most fervent devotion. (145) But sub- 
sequently sequently, when charity and devotion declined amongst Chris- 
decreed, tians, and the faithful very seldom approached the holy com- 
munion, it was decreed by Pope Fabian, that all should com- 
municate thrice every year, at Christmas, at Easter, and at 
Pentecost, a decree which was afterwards confirmed by many 
Finally, Councils, particularly by the first of Agath. (146) Such, at 
°"„ c f a length, was the decay of piety, that not only was this 
holy and salutary practice unobserved, but communion was 
deferred for years. The Council of Lateran, therefore, 
decreed that all the faithful should communicate, at least, 

(142) Ad frequentem communionem hortantur Augustin. de verbis Domini 
serm. 28, sed hicsermo cum non sit August, sed Ambr. 1. 5. de sacram. c. 4. re- 
jectus est in appendicem tomi 10. item vide eundem Aug. Epist. 1 18. c. 3. item, 
Ignat. ad Ephes. satis ante finem. Basil. Epist. ad Caesar, patr Ambr. 1. 3. de 
sacr. c. 4. Chrysost. hom. 61. ad pop. Antioch. Cypr. de Ora. Dominica ad hcec 
verba, panem nostrum quot. Hieron. epist. 28. ad Lucin vers, finem. Cyril, c. 3. 
in Joan. c. 37, vide etiam de consecr. dist. 2. per multa capita hac de re. 

(143J Acts, ii. 42, 46. (144) De consec. dist. 2, c. 10. 

(145) De quotidiana communione vide Dionys. de Eccles. Hierarch. c. 3, 
parte 2, Hieron. Epist. 28, ad Lucin. Greg. 1. 2, dialog, c. 23. Item vide 1. de 
Eccl. dogmat. c. 53, & citatur de consec. dist. 2,c. 13. 

(146) Fab. decret. habes de cons. dist. 2. c. 16. & ib. citatur Condi. Agath- 
ense c. 18. c. BBecularei. 



year. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 221 

once a year, at Easter, and that the omission should be chas- 
tised by exclusion from the society of the faithful. (1 47) But, T° whom 
although this law, sanctioned, as it is, by the authority of God, tion of this 
and of his Church, regards all the faithful, the pastor, howev- ^dT' 
er, will teach that it does not extend to persons who have not 
arrived at the years of discretion, because they are incapable 
of discerning the Holy Eucharist from common food, and can- 
not bring with them to this Sacrament, the piety and devotion 
which it demands. To extend the precept to them would ap- 
pear inconsistent with the institution of this Sacrament by our 
Lord : " Take," says he, " and eat," (148) words which can- 
not apply to infants, who are evidently incapable of taking and 
eating. In some places, it is true, an ancient practice prevail- The Eu- 
ed of giving the Holy Eucharist even to infants; ( 1 49) but, for the ciently gi- 
reasons already assigned, and for other reasons most consonant ^ e ° te t0 in ~ 
to Christian piety, this practice has been long discontinued by 
authority of the same Church. With regard to the age at 
which children should be admitted to communion, this the pa- 
rents and confessor can best determine : to them it belongs to 
ascertain whether the children have acquired a competent 
knowledge of this admirable Sacrament, and desire to taste 
this bread of angels. 

From persons labouring under actual insanity the Sacrament When to 
should also be withheld. However, according to the decree wn fn not 
of the Council of Carthage, it may be administered to them t0 be ? 1V " 
at the close of life, provided they had evinced, previously to sane per- 
their insanity, a sincerely pious desire of being admitted to its sons " 
participation, and if no danger arising from the state of the 
stomach, or other inconvenience or indignity, is to be appre- 
hended. (150) 

As to the rite to be observed in the administration of this To be re- 
Sacrament, the pastor will teach, that the law of the Church der both " 
interdicts its administration under both kinds to any but to ^ nds J , X 

J the offici- 

the officiating priest, unless by special permission of the ating priest 
Church. Christ, it is true, as has been explained by the Coun- ° v "hy' an 

(147) Citat. 1. 5. deer. tit. de paen. & remiss, c. omnes utri usque sexus. 

(148) Matth. xxvi. 26. ('49) Cypr. de Lapsis post ined. 
(150) Cone. Cath. 4. 76. 



228 THE CATECHISM OF 

cil of Trent, ^151) instituted and administered to his Apostles, 
at his last supper, this great Sacrament under both kinds ; but 
it does not follow of necessity, that by doing so he established 
a law rendering its administration to the faithful under both 
species imperative. Speaking of this Sacrament he himself 
frequently mentions it under one kind only: "If," says he, 
"any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever, and the 
" bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world," 
and, "He that eateth this bread shall live for ever." (152) 
The Church, no doubt, was influenced by numerous and co- 
gent reasons, not only to approve but confirm by solemn de- 
cree, the general practice of communicating under one species. 
!• In the first place, the greatest caution was necessary to avoid 
accident or indignity, which must become almost inevitable, if 
the chalice were administered in a crowded assemblage. In 
the next place, the Holy Eucharist should be, at all times in 
readiness for the sick, and if the species of wine remained long 
unconsumed, it were to be apprehended that it might become 

III. vapid. Besides, there are many who cannot bear the taste or 
smell of wine ; lest, therefore, what is intended for the nutri- 
ment of the soul should prove noxious to the health of the bo- 
dy, the Church, in her wisdom, has sanctioned its administra- 

IV. tion under the species of bread alone. We may also observe 
that, in many places wine is extremely scarce, nor can it be 
brought from distant countries without incurring very heavy 
expense, and encountering very tedious and difficult journeys. 

V. Finally, a circumstance which principally influenced the Church 
in establishing this practice, means were to be devised to crush 
the heresy which denied, that Christ, whole and entire, is con- 
tained under either species, and asserted that the body is con- 
tained under the species of bread without the blood, and the 
blood under the species of wine without the body. This ob- 
ject was attained by communion under the species of bread 
alone, which places, as it were, sensibly before our eyes, the 

(151) Ses3. 21. decern sub utraque specie can. 1. 2. S. 

(152) John, vi. 52, 59. Unius tantum speciei usum sufficere ad perfectam 
communionem colligis ex Tertull. 1. 2. ad uxorem. Cypr. de Lapsis. Orig. horn. 
13, in Exod. Basil, epist ad Caesar, patr. Aug. ep. S6. Hier. in Apol. ad Pam- 
macb. Chrysost. honi. 41. operis imperf. in Mattli. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 229 

truth of the Catholic faith. Those who have written express- 
ly on this subject, will, if it appear necessary, furnish the pas- 
tor with additional reasons for the practice of the Catholic 
Church in the administration of the Holy Eucharist. 

To omit nothing doctrinal on so important a subject, we now p « ests «•- 

i /• i • • * i c •-.<■, lone the 

come to speak ot the minister ol the sacrament, a point, how- ministers 
ever, on which scarcely any one is ignorant. The pastor then charist EU " 
will teach, that to priests alone has been given power to conse- 
crate"and administer the Holy Eucharist. That the unvarying 
practice of the Church has also been, that the faithful receive the 
Sacrament from the hand of the priest, and that the priest com- 
municate himself, has been explained by the Council of Trent; 
(153) and the same holy Council has shown that this practice 
is always to be scrupulously adhered to, stamped, as it is, with 
the authoritative impress of Apostolic tradition, and sanctioned 
by the illustrious example of our Lord himself, who, with his 
own hands, consecrated and gave to his disciples, his most sa- 
cred body. (154) 

To consult as much as possible, for the dignity of this so au- The laity 
gust a Sacrament, not only is its administration confided ex- fotouch 
clusively to the priestly order ; but the Church has also, by an the sacred 
express law, prohibited any but those who are consecrated to 
religion, unless in case of necessity, to touch the sacred vessels, 
the linen or other immediate necessaries for consecration. 
Priest and people may hence learn, what piety and holiness 
they should possess who consecrate, administer, or receive the 
Holy of Holies. The Eucharist, however, as was observed Efficacy of 
with regard to the other Sacraments, whether administered by ris e t n "£ a f~ 
holy or unholy hands, is equally valid. It is of faith that the j* oted b ? 
efficacy of the Sacraments does not depend on the merit of the or demerit 
minister, but on the virtue and power of our Lord Jesus Christ. ° ster emm " 

With regard to the Eucharist as a Sacrament, these are the The Eu- 
principal points which demanded explanation. Its nature as a sacrifice* 
sacrifice we now come to explain, that pastors may know 
what are the principal instructions to be communicated to the 
faithful regarding this mystery, on Sundays and holidays, in 

(153) Sess. 13, c. 10. (154) Matth. xxvi. 26. Matth. xiv. 22. 



230 THE CATECHISM OF 

compliance with the decree of the Council of Trent. (155) 
Not only is this Sacrament a treasure of heavenly riches, which 
if we turn to good account will purchase for us the favour and 
friendship of heaven ; but it also possesses the peculiar and ex- 
traordinary value, that in it we are enabled to make some suit- 
able return to God for the inestimable benefits bestowed on us 
by his bounty. If duly and legitimately offered, this victim is 
most grateful and most acceptable to God. If the sacrifices of 
the old law, of which it is written : u Sacrifices and oblations 
thou wouldst not ;" (156) and also, " If thou hadst desired sa- 
" crifice, I would, indeed, have given it : with burnt-offering 
" thou wilt not be delighted," (157) were so acceptable in his 
sight that, as the Scripture testifies, from them " he smelt a 
" sweet savour," (158) that is to say, they were grateful and 
acceptable to him ; what have we not to hope from the effica- 
cy of a sacrifice, in which is immolated and offered no less a 
victim than he, of whom a voice from heaven twice proclaim- 
ed : " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
(159) This mystery, therefore, the pastor will carefully ex- 
plain to the people, that when assembled at its celebration, 
they may learn to make it the subject of attentive and devout 
meditation. 
Instituted He will teach, in the first place, that the Eucharist was in- 
greatends. st -i tute d by our Lord for two great purposes, to be the celes- 
tial food of the soul, preserving and supporting spiritual life, 
and to give to the Church a perpetual sacrifice, by which sin 
may be expiated, and our heavenly Father, whom our crimes 
have often grievously offended, may be turned from wrath to 
mercy, from the severity of just vengeance to the exercise of 
benignant clemency. Of this the paschal lamb, which was of- 
fered and eaten by the Israelites as a sacrament and sacrifice, 
R fl . was a lively figure. (160) Nor could our divine Lord, when 
about to offer himself to his eternal Father on the altar of the 
cross, have given a more illustrious proof of his unbounded 
love for us, than by bequeathing to us a visible sacrifice, by 
which the bloody sacrifice, which, a little after, was to be of- 

(155) Sess. 22. princip. C. 8. (156) Ps. xxxix. 7. (157) Ps. 1. 18. 

(158) Gen. viii. 21. (159) Matth. iii. 17. (160) Deut. 16. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 231 

fered once on the cross, was to be renewed, and its memory 
celebrated daily throughout the universal Church even to the 
consummation of time, to the great advantage of her children. 

The difference between the Eucharist as a sacrament and The differ- 
sacrifice is very great, and is two-fold: as a sacrament it istweenthe 
perfected bv consecration, as a sacrifice all its efficacy con- Eucharist 

r J ' as a sacra- 

sists in its oblation. When deposited in a tabernacle, or borne ment and 

to the sick, it is, therefore, a sacrament, not a sacrifice. As a t^o-fbld. 
sacrament, it is also to the worthy receiver a source of merit, 
and brings with it all those advantages which we have already 
mentioned ; as a sacrifice it is not only a source of merit, but 
also of satisfaction. As, in his passion, our Lord merited and 
satisfied for us ; so in the oblation of this sacrifice, which is a 
bond of Christian unity, Christians merit the fruit of his pas- 
sion, and satisfy for sin. 

With regard to the institution of this sacrifice, the Council This sacri- 
of Trent has obviated all doubt on the subject, by declaring^ ^ en ' 
that it was instituted by our Lord at his last supper, whilst it whom 

. ,-, , , . . > „ instituted. 

denounces anathema against all who assert,, that in it is not of- 
fered to God a true and proper sacrifice ; or that to offer 
means nothing more, than that Christ gives himself to be our 

spiritual food. (161) That sacrifice is due to God alone, the Sacrifice 
1 . ' due to God 

holy Council also states in the clearest terms. (162) The so- alone. 
lemn sacrifice of the Mass is, it is true, sometimes offered to 
honour the memory of the Saints; but it is never offered to 
them, but to him alone who has crowned them with unfading 
glory. Never does the officiating minister say : " I offer sac- 
" rifice to thee Peter, or to thee Paul ;" but whilst he offers 
sacrifice to God alone, he renders him thanks for the signal 
victories won by the martyrs, and implores their patronage, 
" that they whose memory we celebrate on earth, may vouch- 
" safe to intercede for us in heaven." (163) The doctrine of 
the Catholic Church with regard to this sacrifice, she receiv- 
ed from our Lord, when, at his last supper, committing to his 
Apostles the sacred mysteries, he said : " This do for a com- 

(161) Vid. Trid.de Sacrif. Missse c. 1. 3. Dionys. 1. 1 7. deEcdes. c. 3. Tgnat. 
epist. ad Sinyrn. Tert. lib. de Orat. Iren. 1. 4. c. 32. Aug. 1. 10. de Civit.^Dei, 
c. 10. et 1. 17. c. 20. etl. 18. c. 35. et 1. 10. c. 13. et 1. 22. c. 8. et alibi passim. 
Vide etiam. Sess. 22. de sacrific. Missse, c. 1, et can. 1 & 2. 

f 162)Trid. Synod. ses«. 21. c. 8. (163) Aug. contra Faust, lib. 20. c. 21. 



282 THE CATECHISM OF 

" memoration of me." (164) He then, as the holy synod has 
defined, ordained them priests, and commanded them and their 
successors in the ministry, to immolate and offer in sacrifice 
his precious body and blood. (165) Of this the words of the 
Apostle to the Corinthians also afford sufficient evidence : 
. " You cannot," says he, " drink the chalice of the Lord, and 
" the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers of the table 
" of the Lord, and of the table of devils." (1 66) As then, by 
" the table of devils," we understand the altar upon which sa- 
crifice was offered to them ; so by " the table of the Lord," to 
bring the words of the Apostle to an apposite conclusion, 
should be understood the altar on which sacrifice was offered 
to the Lord. 
Figures & Should we look for figures and prophecies of this sacrifice in 
ofthissa- the Old Testament, we find, in the first place, that its institu- 
cnfice. t j on was c ] ear ]y foretold by Malachy in these words : " From 
" the rising of the sun, even to the going down thereof, my 
" name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is 
" sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation : 
" for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of 
"hosts." (167) This saving victim was also foretold, as well 
before as after the promulgation of the Mosaic law, by a va- 
riety of sacrifices ; for this alone, as the perfection and com- 
pletion of all, comprises all the advantages which were typified 
by the other sacrifices. In none of the sacrifices of the old 
law, however, do we discover a more lively image of the Eu- 
charistic sacrifice than in that of Melchisedech. (168) Our 
Lord himself, at his Last Supper, offered to his eternal Father 
his precious body and blood under the appearances of bread 
and wine, at the same time declaring himself, " a priest for ev- 
" er according to the order of Melchisedech." (1 69) 
The sacri- We, therefore, confess that the sacrifice of the Mass is one 
Mass f the e anc * ^ e same sacr ifi ce with that of the cross : the victim is one 
same with and the same, Christ Jesus, who offered himself, once only, a 
cr o gs ie bloody sacrifice on the altar of the cross. The bloody and un- 
bloody victim is still one and the same, and the oblation of the 

(164) Luke, xxii. 19. 1 Cor. xi. 24. (165) Cone. Trid. sesa. 22. c. 1. 

(166) lCor. x. 21. (167)Malach. i. 11. 

(168) Gen. xiv. 18. (169) Heb. vii. 17. Pi. cix. 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 233 

cross is daily renewed in the eucharistic sacrifice, in obedi- 
ence to the command of our Lord : " This do, for a comme- 
" moration of me." (170) The Priest is also the same, Christ 
our Lord: the ministers who offer this sacrifice, consecrate the 
holy mysteries not in their own but in the person of Christ. 
This the words of consecration declare : the priest does not 
say : " This is the body of Christ," but, " This is my body ;" 
and thus invested with the character of Christ, he changes the 
substance of the bread and wine into the substance of his real 
body and blood. (171) That the holy sacrifice of the Mass, The Mass, 

J v ' r. 'a. sacrifice 

therefore, is not only a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, or of praise, 
a commemoration of the sacrifice of the cross'; but also a sacri- i n g"&pro- 
fice of propitiation, by which God is appeased and rendered pitiation. 
propitious, the pastor will teach as a dogma defined by the un- 
erring authority of a General Council of the Church. (172) If, 
therefore, with pure hearts and a lively faith, and with a sin- 
cere sorrow for past transgressions, we immolate and offer in 
sacrifice this most holy victim, we shall, no doubt, receive from 
the Lord "mercy and grace in seasonable aid." (173) So 
acceptable to God is the sweet odour of this sacrifice, that 
through its oblation he pardons our sins, bestowing on us the 
gifts of grace and of repentance. This is the solemn prayer 
of the Church : as often as the commemoration of this victim is 
celebrated, so often is the work of our salvation promoted, and 
the plenteous fruits of that bloody victim flow in upon us abun- 
dantly, through this unbloody sacrifice. 

The pastor will also teach, that such is the efficacy of this Available 
sacrifice, that its benefits extend not only to the celebrant and ingandthe 
communicant, but also to all the faithful whether living or num- dead: 
bered amongst those who have died in the Lord, but whose 
sins have not yet been fully expiated. According to Apostolic 
tradition the most authentic, it is not less available when offer- 
ed for them than when offered in atonement for the sins, in al- 
leviation of the punishments, the satisfactions, the calamities, or 
for the relief of the necessities, of the living. (174) It is hence 

(170) Luke, xxii. 19. 1 Cor. xi. 24. 

(171) Chrys. hom. 2. in 2. ad Tirnoth. et hom. de prod. Judee. Ambr. lib. 4. 
de Sacram. c. 4. (172) Trident, sess. 22. de sacrif. Missse, c. 2. & can. 3; 

(173) Hebr. iv. 16. (I74j Trid. Synod, sess. 22. cap. 206. 

30 



ceremo- 
nies, 



234 THE CATECHISM OF 

Common €aS y to perceive, that the Mass, whenever and wherever offer- 
faithful, ed, because conducive to the common interests and salvation 

of all, is to be considered common to all the faithful. 
Its rites & This great sacrifice is celebrated with many solemn rites 
and ceremonies: of these rites and ceremonies let none be 
deemed useless or superfluous : all on the contrary tend to dis- 
play the majesty of this august sacrifice, and to excite the 
faithful, by the celebration of these saving mysteries, to the 
contemplation of the divine things which lie concealed in the 
eucharistic sacrifice. On these rites and ceremonies we shall 
not enter at large : they require a more lengthened exposition 
than is compatible with the nature of the present work ; and 
the pastor has it in his power to consult on the subject, a vari- 
ety of treatises composed by men eminent alike for piety and 
learning. What has been said will, with the divine assistance, 
be found sufficient to explain the principal things which regard 
the Holy Eucharist both as a sacrament and sacrifice. 



ON THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. 



Necessity As the frailty and weakness of human nature are universal- 
cramenTLf ty known and felt, no one can be ignorant of the paramount 
Penance, necessity of the Sacrament of Penance. If, therefore, in the 
exposition of the different matters of instruction, we are to 
measure the assiduity of the pastor by the weight and import- 
ance of the subject, we must come to the conclusion that, in 
expounding this Sacrament, he can never be sufficiently assidu- 
ous. Its exposition demands an accuracy superior to that of 
baptism. Baptism is administered but once, and cannot be re- 
peated ; penance may be administered and becomes necessary, 
as often as we may have sinned after baptism, according to 
the definition of the Fathers of Trent. " For those who fall 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 235 

" into sin after baptism," say they, " the sacrament of penance 
" is as necessary to salvation, as is baptism for those who 
"have not been already baptised," (1) On this subject the 
words of S. Jerome, which say, that penance is " a second 
" plank," (2) are universally known, and highly commended 
by all who have written on this Sacrament. As he who suffers 
shipwreck has no hope of safety, unless, perchance, he seize 
on some plank from the wreck ; so he that suffers the ship- 
wreck of baptismal innocence, unless he cling to the saving 
plank of penance, may abandon all hope of salvation. These 
instructions, however, are intended not only for the benefit of 
the pastor, but also for that of the faithful at large, whose at- 
tention they may awaken, lest they be found culpably negli- 
gent in a matter of all others the most important. Impressed 
with a just sense of the frailty of human nature, their first and 
most earnest desire should be, to advance, with the divine as- 
sistance, in the ways of God, flying sin of every sort. But 
should they, at any time, prove so unfortunate as to fall, then, 
looking at the infinite goodness of God, who like the good 
shepherd binds up and heals the wounds of his sheep, they 
should have immediate recourse to the sacrament of penance, 
that by its salutary and medicinal efficacy their wounds may 
be healed. (3) 

But to enter more immediately on the subject, and to avoid Different 
all error to which the ambiguity of the word may give rise, its oTtiie" 88 
different meanings are first to be explained. By penance some word P en " 
understand satisfaction ; whilst others, who wander far from 
the doctrine of the Catholic faith, supposing penance to have 
no reference to the past, define it to be nothing more than new- 

(1) Sess. 6. de Just. cap. 14. & Sess. 14. de pcenit, cap. 3. in 3 cap. 

(2) Hieron. ad ha;c verba, Ruit Hierusalem, & epistola 8. 

(3) Ezech. xxxiv. 16. De Poenitentia e patribus antiquis scripserunt Tertul. 
librumunum. Cypr. epistolas plures et unum lib. de Lapsis, Pacianus lib. unum 
et duas epistolas ad Symproniam, ac de pcenit. et confession, seu paran. ad paenit. 
Ambros. libros duos pcenit. Chrysost. Homilias 1 0. et sermon, de pcenit. Eph- 
rem. lib. et sermon, de pcenit. Fulgentius lib. 2. de remission, peecatorum ad 
Euthymium, et sess. 14. de pcenit. cap. 3. Greg. Nyssenus orationem de pcenit. 
Basil, homil. unam. quae est postrema variarum, Augusr.in denique lib. unum 
de vera et falsa pcenitentia, et librum insignem de pcenitentise medicina. His 
adde Marcum Eremitam cujus extat de pcenitent. liber unus, sed caute legen- 
dus: de eo vide Bellarmin. de Script. Eccles. Qui non habet Patres supra cita- 
tos, vidcat in Decreta Gratiani de pcenitent. 7. distinctiones. 



236 THE CATECHISM OF 

ness of life. The pastor, therefore, will teach that the word 
I. (poenitentia) has a variety of meanings. In the first place, it is 
used to express a change of mind ; as when, without taking in- 
to account the nature of the object, whether good or bad, what 
was before pleasing, is now become displeasing to us. In this 
sense the Apostle makes use of the word, when he applies it 
to those, " whose sorrow is according to the world, not ac- 
" cording to God ; and therefore, worketh not salvation but 
H- " death." (4) In the second place, it is used to express that 
sorrow which the sinner conceives for sin, not however for 
III. sake of God, but for his own sake. A third meaning is when 
we experience interior sorrow of heart, or give exterior indi- 
cation of such sorrow, not only on account of the sins which 
we have committed, but also for sake of God alone whom they 
offend. To all these sorts of sorrow the word (poenitentia) 
properly applies. 
In what When the Sacred Scriptures say that God repented, (5) the 
sense God expression is evidently figurative : when we repent of any 
repent. thing, we are anxious to change it ; and thus, when God is 
said to change any thing, the Scriptures, accommodating their 
language to our ideas, say that he repents. Thus we read 
that "it repented him that he had made man," (6) and also 
that it repented him to have made Saul king. (7) 
Meaning But an important distinction is to be made between these 
here. different significations of the word : to repent, in its first mean- 
ing, argues imperfection — in its second, the agitation of a dis- 
turbed mind — in the third, penance is a virtue and a sacrament, 
the sense in which it is here used. 
Penance as We s ^ a ^ fi rst * reat °f penance as a virtue, not only because 
a virtue, ft is the bounden duty of the pastor to form the faithful, with 
whose instruction he is charged, to the practice of every vir- 
tue ; but also, because the acts which proceed from penance 
as a virtue, constitute the matter as it were, of penance as a sa- 
crament ; and if ignorant of it in this latter sense, impossible 
not to be ignorant also of its efficacy as a sacrament. The 
faithful, therefore, are first to be admonished and exhorted to 

(4) 2 Cor. vii. 10. 

(5) Gen. vi. 6. 1 Kings, xv. 1.1. Ps. cv. 45. Jerem. xxvi. 3. 

(6) Gen. vi. 6. (7) 1 Kings, xv. 11. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 237 

labour strenuously to attain this interior penance of the heart, 
which we call a virtue, and without which exterior penance 
can avail them very little. (8) This virtue consists in turning 
to God sincerely and from the heart, and in hating and detest- 
ing our past transgressions, with a firm resolution of amend- 
ment of life, hoping to obtain pardon through the mercy of 
God. It is accompanied with a sincere sorrow, which is an 
agitation and affection of the mind, and is called by many a 
passion, and if accompanied with detestation, is, as it were, 
the companion of sin. It must, however, be preceded by faith, Supposes 
for without faith no man can turn to God. Faith, therefore, 
cannot on any account be called a part of penance. (9) That Proved to 
this inward affection of the soul is, as we have already said, a i. 
virtue, the various precepts which enforce its necessity prove ; 
for precepts regard those actions only the performance of 
which implies virtue. Besides, to experience a sense of sor- H. 
row at the time, in the manner, and to the extent which are 
consonant to reason and religion, is no doubt an exercise of 
virtue : and this sorrow is regulated by the virtue of penance. 
Some conceive a sorrow which bears no proportion to the 
enormity of their crimes : " There are some," says Solomon, 
" who are glad when they have done evil ;" (10) whilst others, 
on the contrary, consign themselves to such morbid melancho- 
ly and to such a deluge of grief, as utterly to abandon all hope 
of salvation. Such perhaps was the condition of Cain when 
he exclaimed: " My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve 
" pardon:" (11) such certainly was the condition of Judas, 
who, " repenting," hanged himself in despair, and thus sacri- 
ficed soul and body. (12) Penance therefore, considered as a 
virtue, assists us in restraining within the bounds of modera- 
tion our sense of sorrow. 

That penance is a virtue may also be inferred from the ends III. 
which the penitent proposes to himself. The first is to de- 
stroy sin and efface from the soul its every spot and stain ; the 

{8) Vide Amb. in sermone de poen. et citatur de psenit. dist. 3. cap. poeniten- 
tia. Aug. lib. de vera et falsa poen. c. 8. et habetur de poen. 3. c. 4. Greg. hom. 
34. in Evang. et lib. 9. Regist. Epist. 39. . 

(9) Trid. Sess. 14. de poen. c. 3. can. 4. 

(10) Prov. ii. 14. (11) Gen. iv. 13. (\2) Matth. xxvii. 3. 



238 THE CATECHISM OF 

second, to make satisfaction to God for the sins which he has 
committed, and this is an act of justice towards God. Between 
God and man, it is true, no relation of strict justice can exist, 
so great is the distance between the Creator and the creature; 
yet between both there is evidently a sort of justice, such as 
exists between a father and his children, between a master and 
his servants. The third end is, to reinstate himself in the fa- 
vour and friendship of God whom he has offended, and whose 
hatred he has earned by the turpitude of sin. That penance 
is a virtue, these three ends which the penitent proposes to 
himself, sufficiently prove. 
The de- We must also point out the steps, by which we may ascend 
whTchwe to ^^ divine virtue. The mercy of God first prevents us and 
attain this converts our hearts to him ; this was the object of the pro- 
I.' phet's prayer : " Convert us, O Lord ! and we shall be con- 
IL " verted." (13) — Illumined by this celestial light the soul next 
tends to God by faith : " He that cometh to God," says the 
Apostle, " must believe that he is, and is a rewarder to them 
fit. "that seek him." (14) A salutary fear of God's judgments 
follows, and the soul, contemplating the punishments that await 
sin, is recalled from the paths of vice : " As a woman with- 
" child," says Isaias, " when she draweth near the time of her 
" delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so are we 
IV. " become in thy presence, O Lord!" (15) — We are also ani- 
mated with a hope of obtaining mercy from God, and cheered 
by this hope we resolve on a change of life. — Lastly, our hearts 
are inflamed by charity; and hence we conceive that filial 
fear which a dutiful ingenuous child experiences towards a 
parent. Thus, dreading only to offend the majesty of God in 
Heaven any thing, we entirely abandon the ways of sin. These are, 
of penance as ^ were 5 the steps by which we ascend to this most exalted 
virtue, a virtue altogether heavenly and divine, to which the 
Sacred Scriptures promise the inheritance of heaven : " Do 
" penance," says the Redeemer, " for the kingdom of heaven 
" is at hand :" (16) " If," says the Prophet Ezekiel, " the wick- 
" ed do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and 

(13) Jerorn. xxxi. 18. (14) Heb. xi. 6. 

(!</) Tsa xxvi. 17. ( 10) Matth. iv. lv. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 239 

" keep all my commandments, and do judgment and justice, 
" living he shall live, and shall not die:" (17) "I desire not, 
" saith the Lord, the death of the wicked, but that the wicked 
" turn from his way and live ;" (18) words which are evident- 
ly understood of eternal life. 

With regard to external penance, the pastor will teach that a e S acra- 
itis that which constitutes the sacrament of penance : it consists ™ e £^j y 
of certain sensible things significant of that which passes in- by our 
teriorly in the soul ; and the faithful are to be informed, in the or j'. 
first place, why the Redeemer was pleased to give it a place 
among the Sacraments. His object was, no doubt, to remove, 
in a great measure, all uncertainty as to the pardon of sin pro- 
mised by our Lord when he said : "If the wicked do penance 
" for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my 
" commandments, and do judgment and justice, living he shall 
" live and shall not die." (1 9) Pronouncing upon his own ac- 
tions, every man has reason to question the accuracy of his 
own judgment, and hence, at the sincerity of interior penance 
the mind must be held in anxious suspense. To calm this our 
solicitude, the Redeemer instituted the sacrament of penance, 
in which we cherish a well founded hope, that our sins are for- 
given us by the absolution of the priest, and the faith which 
we justly have in the efficacy of the Sacraments, has much in- 
fluence in tranquillising the troubled conscience and giving 
peace to the soul. The voice of the priest, who is legitimate- 
ly constituted a minister for the remission of sins, is to be 
heard as that of Christ himself, who said to the lame man : 
" Son be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee." (20) 

Moreover, as salvation is unattainable but through Christ n - 
and the merits of his passion, the institution of this sacrament 
was in itself accordant to the views of divine wisdom, and preg- 
nant with blessings to the Christian. Penance is the channel 
through which the blood of Christ flows into the soul, washes 
away the stains contracted after baptism, and calls forth from 
us the grateful acknowledgment, that to the Saviour alone we 
are indebted for the blessing of a reconciliation with God. 

(H) Ezek. xviii. 21. (18) Ezek. xxxiii. 11. (19) Ezek. xviii. 21. 

(20 J Matth. ix. 2. Vid. Cone. Trid. sess. xiv. c. 1. in noc. 1. Epist. 91 inter 
epist. Aug. 



240 THE CATECHISM OF 

Penance That penance is a sacrament the pastor will not find it diffi- 

proved to 

be a sacra- cult to establish : baptism is a sacrament because it washes 
ment * away all, particularly original sin : penance also washes away 
all sins of thought or deed committed after baptism ; on the 
same principle, therefore, penance is a sacrament. Again, and the 
argument is conclusive, a sacrament is the sign of a sacred thing, 
and what is done externally, by the priest and penitent, is a 
sign of what takes place, internally, in the soul : the penitent 
unequivocally expresses, by words and actions, that he has 
turned away from sin : the. priest, too, by words and actions, 
gives us easily to understand, that the mercy of God is exer- 
cised in the remission of sin : this is, also, clearly evinced by 
these words of the Saviour: "I will give to thee the keys of 
"the kingdom of heaven; whatever sins you loose on earth, 
" shall be loosed, also, in heaven." (21 ) The absolution of the 
priest, which is expressed in words, seals, therefore, the re- 
mission of sins, which it accomplishes in the soul, and thus is 
penance invested with all the necessary conditions of a sacra- 
ment, and is, therefore, truly a sacrament. 
The Sa- That penance is not only to be numbered amongst the sacra- 
penTnce ments > but also amongst the sacraments that may be repeated, 
may be re- the faithful are next to be taught. To Peter, asking if sin may 
be forgiven seven times, our Lord replies: "I say, not seven 
" times, but seventy times seven." (22) Whenever, therefore, 
the ministry of the priest is to be exercised towards those who 
seem to diffide in the infinite goodness and mercy of God, the 
zealous pastor will seek to inspire them with confidence, and 
to reanimate their hopes of obtaining the grace of God. This 
he will find it easy to accomplish by expounding the preceding 
words of our Lord, by adducing other texts of the same im- 
port, which are to be found numerously scattered throughout 
the Sacred Volume ; and by adopting those reasons and argu- 
ments which are supplied by S. Chrysostom in his book " on 
" the fallen," and by S. Ambrose in his treatise on penance. (23) 
Its matter. As, then, amongst the sacraments there is none on which the 



(21) Matth. xvi. 19. (22) Matth. xviii. 22. 

(23) Chrys. 1. 5. lib. de laps, repar. et habetur de pocnit. dist. 3. c. talis. Anib. 
de poenit. lib. I.e. 1. et 2. vid. et Aug. lib. de vera et falsa poenit. c. 5. citatur 
de poenit. dist. c. 3. adhuc instant. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 241 

faithful should be better informed, they are to be taught that it 
differs from the other sacraments in this : the matter of the ofh- 
er sacraments is some production of nature or art ; but the acts 
of the penitent, contrition, confession, and satisfaction, consti- 
tute, as has been defined by the Council of Trent, the matter as 
it weie (quasi materia) of the sacrament of penance. (24) They 
are called parts of penance, because required in the penitent, 
by divine institution, for the integrity of the sacrament and the 
full and entire remission of sin. When the holy synod says, 
that they are " the matter as it were," it is not because they are 
not the real matter, but because they are not, like water in bap- 
tism and chrism in confirmation, matter that may be applied ex- 
ternally. With regard to the opinion of some, who hold that Smsin 

J . . what sense 

the sins themselves constitute the matter of this sacrament, if its matter, 
well weighed, it will not be found to differ from what has been 
already laid down : we say that wood which is consumed by 
fire, is the matter of fire ; and sins which are destroyed by pe- 
nance, may also be called, with propriety, the matter of pen- 
ance. 

The form, also, because well calculated to excite the faith- Its form - 
ful, to receive with fervent devotion the grace of this Sacra- 
ment, the pastor will not omit to explain. The words that 
compose the form are : " I absolve thee," as may be infer- 
red not only from these words of the Redeemer: " Whatsoev- 
" er you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven ;" 
(25) but also from the same doctrine of Jesus Christ, as re- 
corded by the Apostles. That this is the perfect form of the 
sacrament of penance, the very nature of the form of a sa- 
crament proves. The form of a sacrament signifies what the 
sacrament accomplishes : these words " I absolve thee" signi- 
fy the accomplishment of absolution from sin through the in- 
strumentality of this sacrament ; they therefore constitute its 
form. Sins are, as it were, the chains by which the soul is 
fettered, and from the bondage of which it is " loosed" by the 
sacrament of penance. This form is not less true, when pro- 
nounced by the priest over him, who, by means of perfect con- 

(24) Sess. 24. de poenit, e. 3. et can. 4. (25) Matth. xviii. IS. 

31 



242 THE CATECHISM OF 

trition, has already obtained the pardon of his sins. Perfect 
contrition, it is true, reconciles the sinner to God, but his jus- 
tification is not to be ascribed to perfect contrition alone, in- 
dependently of the desire which it includes of receiving the 
companied sacrament of penance. Many prayers accompany the form, 
ers Fay " no ^ because they are deemed necessary, but in order to remove 
Reflection, every obstacle, which the unworthiness of the penitent may 
oppose to the efficacy of the sacrament. Let then the sinner 
pour out his heart in fervent thanks to God, who has invested 
the ministers of his Church with such ample powers ! Unlike 
the authority given to the priests of the Old Law, to declare 
the leper cleansed from his leprosy, (26) the power with which 
the priests of the New Law are invested, is not simply to de- 
clare that sins are forgiven, but, as the ministers of God, real- 
ly to absolve from sin; a power which God himself, the au- 
thor and source of grace and justification, exercises through 
their ministry. 

The rites, used in the administration of this sacrament, also 
tobe"? demand the serious attention of the faithful. They will enable 
served in them to form a more just estimate of the blessings which it be- 

receiving , 

this sacra- stows, recollecting that as servants, they are reconciled to the 
meIlt • best of masters, or rather, as children, to the tenderest of fa- 
thers. They will, also, serve to place in a clearer point of 
view, the duty of those who desire, and desire every one 
should, to evince their grateful recollection of so inestimable a 
favor. Humbled in spirit, the sincere penitent casts himself 
down at the feet of the priest, to testify, by this his humble de- 
meanour, that he acknowledges the necessity of eradicating 
pride, the root of all those enormities which he now deplores. 
In the minister of God, who sits in the tribunal of penance as 
his legitimate judge, he venerates the power and person of our 
Lord Jesus Christ; for in the administration of this, as in 
that of the other sacraments, the priest represents the 
character and discharges the functions of Jesus Christ. — 
Acknowledging himself deserving of the severest chas- 
tisements, and imploring the pardon of his guilt, the peni- 

(26) Levit. xiii.9. et xiv. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 243 

tent next proceeds to the confession of his sins. To the an- 
tiquity of all these rites S. Denis bears the most authentic tes- 
timony. (27) 

To the faithful, however, nothing will be found more advan- Its advan- 
tageous, nothing better calculated to animate them to frequent 
the sacrament of penance with alacrity, than the frequent ex- 
position of the inestimable advantages which it confers. They 
will then see, that of penance it may be truly said: that " its 
root is bitter, but its fruit sweet." The great efficacy of pe- L 
nance is, therefore, that it restores us to the favor of God, and 
unites us to him in the closest bonds of friendship. (28) From II- 
this reconciliation with God, the devout soul, who approaches 
the sacrament with deep sentiments of piety and religion, some- 
times experiences the greatest tranquillity and peace of con- 
science, a tranquillity and peace accompanied with the sweet- m 
est spiritual joy. There is no sin however grievous, no crime iv. 
however enormous or however frequently repeated, which pe- 
nance does not remit : " If," says the Almighty, by the mouth 
of his prophet, " the wicked do penance for all his sins which 
" he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, and do 
" judgment and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die ; 
" I will not remember all his iniquities which he hath done." 
(29) " If," says S. John, "we confess our sins, he is faithful 
" and just to forgive us our sins ; (30) and a little after, he 
" adds ; " If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Fa- 
" ther, Jesus Christ, the just ; and he is the propitiation for 
" our sins ; and not for ours only, but also for those of the 
"whole world." (31) If, therefore, we read in the pages of Note, 
inspiration, of some who earnestly implored the mercy of God, 
but implored it in vain, it is because they did not repent sin- 
cerely and from their hearts. (32) When we also meet in the 
Sacred Scriptures and in the writings of the Fathers, passages 
which seem to say, that some sins are irremissible, we are to 
understand such passages to mean, that it is very difficult to 
obtain the pardon for them. A disease may be said to be in- 



(27) In epist. ad Demoph. Vid. et Tertul. lib. de pajnit. c. 9. 

(28) Cone. Trid. sess. 14. can. 3, &c. 1. de poenitent. 

(29) Ezek. xviii. 21, 22. (30) 1 John, i. 9. 
(31) 1 John, ii. 1, 2. (32) 2 Mach. ix. 13. 



244 THE CATECHISM OF 

curable, when the patient loathes the medicine that would ac- 
complish his cure ; and, in the same sense, some sins may be 
said to be irremissible, when the sinner rejects the grace of 
God, the proper medicine of salvation. To this effect, S. Au- 
gustine says : u When, after having arrived at a knowledge of 
" God, through the grace of Jesus Christ, any one opposes the 
" fellowship of the faith, and maliciously resists the grace of 
" Jesus Christ, so great is the enormity of his crime, that, al- 
" though his guilty conscience obliges him to acknowledge and 
"declare his guilt, he cannot submit to the humiliation of im- 
" ploring pardon." (33) 
Penance To return to penance, to it belongs, in so special a manner, 
to obtain *-he efficacy of remitting actual guilt, that without its interven- 
the pardon \\ m we ca nnot obtain or even hope for pardon. It is written : 

of sin. J *■ 

" Unless you do penance, you shall all perish." (34) These 
words of our Lord are to be understood cf grievous and deadly 
sins, although S. Augustine observes, venial sins also require 
some penance: "If," says he, "without penance, venial sin 
" could be remitted, the daily penance, performed for them by 
" the Church, would be nugatory." (35) 
The three But as, on matters which, in any degree, affect moral actions, 

integral . . ... , , 

parts of pe- it is not enough to convey instruction in general terms, the 
nance. pastor will be careful to expound, severally, all those particu- 
lars which may give the faithful a knowledge of that penance, 
which is unto salvation. To this sacrament, then, it is pecu- 
liar that, besides matter and form, which are common to all 
the sacraments, it has, also, as we said before, what are call- 
ed integral parts of penance, and these integral parts are con- 
trition, confession and satisfaction. " Penance," says S. Chry- 
sostom, " induces the sinner cheerfully to undergo every ri- 
"gor; his heart is pierced with contrition; his lips utter the 
" confession of his guilt ; and his actions breathe humility, and 
Their na- « are accepted by God as a satisfaction." (36) These com- 
ponent parts of penance are such as we say are necessary to 

(33) Lib. 1 de sermon. Domini in montc, c. 42, et 44. et retract, lib. c. 8, 19. 
Aug. serm. 1. de verbis Domini, et epist. 50. ad Bonif. 

(34) Luke, xiii. 3, 5. 

(95) Aug. lib. 50. hom. 50. item epist. 16S. et Ench. cap. 71. 
(36) Hom. 11. quae est de pcenit. Vid. Cone. Trid. 14. de pcenit. cap. 3. et 
can. 4. Item. cone. Flor. in doctrin. de Sacram. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 245 

constitute a whole. The hivnan form, for instance, is com- 
posed of many members, of hands, of feet, of eyes, &c. of 
which, if any are wanting, man is justly deemed imperfect, 
and if not, perfect. Analogous to this, penance consists of the 
three parts which we have already enumerated ; and although, 
as far as regards the nature of penance, contrition and confes- 
sion are sufficient for justification, yet, if unaccompanied with 
satisfaction, something is still wanting to its integrity. So coo- Their con- 
nected then are these parts one with the other, that contrition 
and a disposition to satisfaction precede confession, and con- 
trition and confession precede satisfaction. Why these are S m\p^. 
integral parts of penance may be thus explained — We sin 
against God by thought, word, and deed : when recurring to 
the power of the keys, we should, therefore, endeavour to ap- 
pease his wrath, and obtain the pardon of our sins, by the very 
same means, by which we offended his supreme majesty. In fur- 
ther explanation we may also add, that penance is, as it were, 
a compensation for offences, which proceed from the free will 
of the person offending, and is appointed by the will of God, 
to whom the offence has been offered. On the part of the pen- 
itent, therefore, a willingness to make this compensation is re- 
quired, and in this willingness chiefly consists contrition. The 
penitent must also submit himself to the judgment of the priest, 
who is the vice-gerent of God, to enable him to award a pun- 
ishment proportioned to his guilt; and, hence, are clearly un- 
derstood the nature and necessity of confession and satisfaction. 

But as the faithful require instruction on the nature and effl- Contrition 
« defined 

cacy of these parts of penance, we shall begin with contrition, and ex- 
a subject which demands to be explained with more than ordi- p aine 
nary care ; for as often as we call to mind our past transgres- 
sions, or offend God anew, so often should our hearts be pierc- 
ed with contrition. By the Fathers of the Council of Trent, 
contrition is defined : "A sorrow and detestation of past sin, 
" with a purpose of sinning no more," (37) Speaking of the 
motion of the will to contrition, the Council, a little after, adds : 
" If joined with a confidence in the mercy of God, and an ear- 
nest desire of performing whatever is necessary to the proper 

(3T)Ead. sess. 14. 



246 THE CATECHISM OF 

" reception of the Sacrament, itihus, at length, prepares us for 
" the remission of sin." From this definition, therefore, the 
faithful will perceive that contrition does not simply consist in 
ceasing to sin, purposing to enter, or having actually entered, 
on a new life : it supposes, first of all, a hatred of sin, and a de- 
sire of atoning for past transgressions. This, the cries of the 
holy Fathers of antiquity, which are poured out in the pages 
of inspiration, sufficiently prove: (38) " I have laboured in my 
"groaning;" says David, "every night I will wash my bed:" 
and again, " The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping." 
(39) " I will recount to thee all my years," says the Prophet 
Isaias, " in the bitterness of my soul." (40) These and many 
other expressions of the same import, were called forth by an 
intense hatred and a lively detestation of past transgressions. 
The sor- But, although contrition is defined " a sorrow," the faithful 
row which are not thence to conclude, that this sorrow consists in sensi- 

contntion _ ... 

requires ble feeling ; contrition is an act of the will, and as S. Augus- 
exp ame . ^ ne b serveS) SO rrow is not penance, but the accompaniment 
of penance. (41) By "sorrow" the Fathers of Trent under- 
stand a hatred and detestation of sin ; because, in this sense, 
the Sacred Scriptures frequently make use of the word : " How 
" long," says David, " shall I take counsels in my soul, sorrow 
" in my heart all the day?" (42) and also because from contri- 
tion arises sorrow in the inferior part of the soul, which, in the 
language of the schools, is called the seat of concupiscence. 
With propriety, therefore, is contrition defined "a sorrow," 
because it produces sorrow, a sorrow so intense that in other 
days, penitents, to express its intensity, changed their garments; 
a practice to which our Lord alludes when he says : " Wo to 
" thee Corozain, wo to thee Bethsaida : for if in Tyre and 
"Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought 
" in thee, they had done penance, long since, in sackcloth and 
Propriety " ashes." (43) To signify the intensity of this sorrow, the 
ofthe word u detestation of sin," of which we speak, is properly expressed 
"tion." by the word " contrition," a word which, literally understood, 
means the breaking into small parts by means of some harder 

(38) Vid. de poenit. dist. I. c. et venit, et ibid dist. c. totam. 

(39) Ps. vi. 7-9. (40) Isa. xxxviii. 15. (41) Homil. 50 
(42) Ps. xii. 2. (43) Matth. xi. 21. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 247 

substance, and which is here used metaphorically, to signify 
that our hearts, hardened by pride, are subdued and reduced 
by penance. Hence no other sorrow, not even that which is 
felt for the death of parents, or children, or for any other visi- 
tation however calamitous, is called contrition: the word is ex- 
clusively employed to express the sorrow with which we are over- 
whelmed by the forfeiture of the grace of God and of our own 
innocence. It is, however, often designated by other names : 
sometimes it is called " contrition of heart," because the word Sometimes 
" heart" is frequently used in Scripture to express the will, for other y 
as the heart is the principal, which originates the motion of names - 
the human system ; so, the will is the faculty, which governs 
and controuls the other powers of the soul. By the holy Fa- 
thers it is also called " compunction of heart," and hence, the 
works written by them on contrition they prefer inscribing, 
treatises on " compunction of heart ;" (44) for, as imposthumes 
are cut with a lancet in order to open a passage to the virulent 
matter accumulated within ; so the heart of the sinner is, as it 
were, pierced with contrition, to enable it to emit the deadly 
poison of sin which rankles within it. Hence, contrition is 
called by the Prophet Joel, a rending of the heart: " Be con- 
" verted to me," says he, " with all your hearts in fasting, in 
'[ weeping, in mourning, and rend your hearts." (45) 

That for past transgressions the sinner should experience This sor- 
the deepest sorrow, a sorrow not to be exceeded, will easily b r ° w u sb r ° uld 
appear from the following considerations. Perfect contrition is in degree. 
an act of charity, emanating from what is called filial fear : the 
measure of .contrition and charity should, therefore, it is obvi- 
ous, be the same ; but the charity, which we cherish towards 
God, (46) is the most perfect love ; and, therefore, the sorrow 
which contrition inspires, should also be the most perfect. 
God is to be loved above all things ; and whatever separates 
us from God, is, therefore, to be hated above all things. It is, 
also, worthy of observation, that to charity and contrition the 
language of Scripture assigns the same extent : of charity it is 
said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole 

(44) Chrysost. de compunct. cordis. Triden. de summo bono, lib- 2, c. \2. 

(45) Joel, ii. 12. (46) 1 John, iv. 7. 



248 THE CATECHISM OF 

"heart:" (47) of contrition: "Be converted with thy ichole 

II. " heart." (48) Besides, if it is true, that of all objects which 
solicit our love, God is the supreme good, and no less true, 
that of all objects which deserve our execration sin is the su- 
preme evil; the same principle, which prompts us to confess 
that God is to be loved above all things, obliges us also of ne- 
cessity to acknowledge, that sin is to be hated above all things. 
That God is to be loved above all things, so that we should be 
prepared to sacrifice our lives rather than offend him, these 
words of the Redeemer declare : " He that loveth father or 
" mother more than me, is not worthy of me :" (49) " He that 

III. " will save his life shall lose it." (50) As charity, it is the ob- 
servation of S. Bernard, recognises neither measure nor limit, 
or to use his own words, as " the measure of loving God is to 
" love him without measure," (51 ) so, the measure of hating sin 

And also, should be, to hate sin without measure. Besides, our contri- 
m m ensity t j Qn g^^ fo SU p reme no t only in degree, but also in intensi- 
ty, and thus perfect, excluding all apathy and indifference, ac- 
cording to these words of Deuteronomy : " When thou shalt 
" seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him : yet so if thou seek 
" him with all thy heart, and all the affliction of thy soul ;" (52) 
and of the prophet Jeremiah : " Thou shalt seek me and shalt 
" find me, when thou shalt seek me with all thy heart ; and I 
" will be found by thee, saith the Lord." (53) 
Imperfect If,however, our contrition be not perfect, it may, neverthe- 
may be less, be true and efficacious ; for as things which fall under the 
efficacious senses frequently touch the heart more sensibly, than things 
purely spiritual, it will sometimes happen, that persons feel 
more intense sorrow for the death of their children, than for 
Tears de- the grievousness of their sins. Our contrition may also be true 

sirable, but an( j efficacious, although unaccompanied with tears. That 

not neces- r 

sary. sorrow for his sins bathe the offender in tears, is, however, 

much to be desired and commended. On this subject the 

words of S. Augustine are admirable : " The spirit of Chris- 

" tian charity," says he, "lives not within you, if you lament 

"the body from which the soul has departed, but lament not 

(47) Deut. vi. 5. (48) Joel, li. 1 -'. (49) Matth. x. 37. 

(50) Matth. xvi. 25. Mark, viii. 35. (5 I ) Lib. de diligendo Deo circa rned. 
(52) Deut. iv. 29. (53) Jer. xxix. 13. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 249 

" the soul from which God has departed." (54) To the 
same effect are the words of the Redeemer above cited : " Wo 
" to thee Corozain, wo to thee Bethsaida, for if in Tyre and 
" Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought 
" in thee, they had long since done penance, in sackcloth and 
" ashes." (55) Of this, however, we have abundant illustra- 
tion in the well known examples of the Ninivites, (56) of Da- 
vid, (57) of the woman caught in adultery, (58) and of the 
Prince of the Apostles, (59) all of whom obtained the pardon 
of their sins, imploring the mercy of God with abundance of 
tears. 

The faithful are most earnestly to be exhorted, to study to Contrition 
i • . • . „ , . . . , i-i should ex- 

direct their contrition specially to each mortal sin, into which ten a to all 

they may have had the misfortune to fall : " I will recount to mortalsins 
" thee," says Isaias, " all my years in the bitterness of my 
" soul :"(60) as if he had said : " I will count over all my sins 
" severally, that my heart may be pierced with sorrow for them 
" all." In Ezekiel, also, we read : " If the wicked do penance 
" for all his sins, he shall live." (61) In this spirit, S. Augus- 
tine says : " Let the sinner consider the quality of his sins, as 
" affected by time, place, variety, person." (62) In the work Note 
of conversion, however, the sinner should not despair of the 
infinite goodness and mercy of God : he is most desirous of our 
salvation ; and, therefore, refuses not to pardon, but embraces, 
with a father's fondness, the prodigal child, the moment he re- 
turns to a sense of his duty, and is converted to the Lord, de- 
testing his sins, which he will afterwards, if possible, recall, 
severally, to his recollection, and abhor from his inmost soul. 
The Almighty himself, by the mouth of his prophet, commands 
us to hope, when he says: "The wickedness of the wicked 
" shall not hurt him, in what day soever, he shall turn from his 
" wickedness." (63) 

To convey a knowledge of the most important qualities of The quali- 
true contrition, what has been said will be found sufficiently JjJJjSjJJJ 
comprehensive. In these the faithful are to be accurately in- 

(54) Ser. 41 de Sanctis. (56) Jonas, iii. 6. (57) Ps. 6 & 50. 

(55) Matth. xi. 21. (59) Luke, xxii. 62. (60J Is. xxxviii. 15. 
(58) Luke, vii. 37, 48, 51. (62) Lib. de vera et falsa rulig. cap. 14. 

(61) Ezek. xviii. 21. (63) Ezek. xxxiii. 12. 

32 



250 THE CATECHISM OF 

structed, that each may know the means of attaining, and may 
have a fixed standard by which to determine, how far he may 

I. be removed from, the perfection of this virtue. We must then, 
in the first place, detest and deplore all our sins : if our sorrow 
and detestation extend only to some, our repentance cannot be 
sincere or salutary : " Whosoever shall keep the whole law," 
says St. James, " but offend in one point, is become guilty of 

II. " all." (64) In the next place, our contrition must be accom- 
panied with a desire of confessing and satisfying for our sins; 
dispositions of which we shall treat in their proper place. 

III. Thirdly, the penitent must form a fixed and firm purpose of 
amendment of life, according to these words of the prophet : 
" If the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath com- 
u mitted, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment 
" and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die : I will not 
"remember all his iniquities whicbhe hath done ;" and a little 
after: " Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities, 
" and iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all 
" your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and 

Illustra- a ma k e yourselves a new heart." (65) To the woman caught 
in adultery the Redeemer himself imparts the same lesson of 
" instruction : " Go thy way and sin no more," (66) and also to 
the lame man whom he cured at the pool of Betbsaida : " Be- 
" hold, thou art made whole, sin no more." (67) That a sor- 
row for sin, and a firm purpose of avoiding sin for the future, 
are indispensable to contrition, is the dictate of unassisted 
reason. He who would be reconciled to a friend, must regret 
to have injured or offended him ; and the tone and tenor of 
his conduct must be such that the charge of violating the du- 
ties of friendship cannot, in future, justly attach to his charac- 
ter. These are principles to which man is bound to yield 
obedience; the law to which man is subject, be it natural, di- 
vine, or human, he is bound to obey. If, therefore, by force 
or fraud, the penitent has injured his neighbour in his proper- 
ty, he is bound to restitution: if, by word or deed, he has in- 
jured his honor or reputation, he is under an obligation of re- 

f 64) James, ii. 10. (65) Ezek. xviii. 2 1 , 22. 

166) John, viii. 11. (67) John, v. 14. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 251 

pairing the injury, according to the well known maxim of S. 
Augustine : " the sin is not forgiven, unless what has been ta- 
" ken away, is restored." (68) In the fourth and last place, IV. 
and the condition is no less important, true contrition must be 
accompanied with forgiveness of the injuries,which we may have 
sustained from others. This our Lord emphatically declares 
and energetically inculcates, when he says : " If you will for- 
" give men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive 
" you also your offences ; but if you will not forgive men, nei- 
" ther will your Father forgive you your offences." (69) These 
are the conditions which true contrition requires. There are 
other accompaniments, which, although not essential, contri- 
bute to render contrition more perfect in its kind, and which 
will reward, without fatiguing, the industry of the pastor. 

It will conduce, in an eminent degree, to the spiritual inter- Efficacy & 
ests of the faithful, if the pastor press frequently upon their ance of 
attention, the efficacy and importance of contrition. To make 
known the truths of salvation should not be deemed a full dis- 
charge of the duty of the pastor: his zeal should be exerted to 
persuade them to the adoption of these truths as their rule of 
conduct through life, as the governing principle of all their ac- 
tions. Other pious exercises, such as alms, fasting, prayer, 
and the like, in themselves holy and commendable,are sometimes, 
through human infirmity, rejected by Almighty God ; but con- 
trition can never be rejected by him, never prove unacceptable 
to him : " A contrite and humbled heart, O God !" exclaims 
the prophet, "thou wilt not despise." (70) Nay more, the 
same prophet declares that, as soon as we have conceived this 
contrition in our hearts, our sins are forgiven : " I said, I will 
"confess my injustice to the Lord, and thou hast forgiven the 
"wickedness of my sin." (71) Of this we have a figure in 
the ten lepers, who, when sent by our Lord to the priests, 
were cured of their leprosy, before they had reached them ; 
(72) to give us to understand, that such is the efficacy of true 
contrition, of which we have spoken above, that through it 
we obtain from God the immediate pardon of our sins. 

(68) Epist. v. 4. (69) Matth. vi. 14. (70) Ps. 1. 19. 

(71) Ps. xxxi. 5. (72) Luke, xvii. 11. 



252 THE CATECHISM OF 



Spiritual To excite the faithful to contrition, it will be found very 

exercises •«• . ■ . . 

conducive salutary n the pastor point out the spiritual exercises condu- 
tion " 1 "" c ' ve t0 contr iti on - This is to be accomplished by admonish- 

I. ing them, frequently to examine their consciences, in order to 
ascertain if they have been faithful in the observance of those 
things which God and his Church require ; and should any 
one be conscious of crime, he should immediately accuse him- 

m - self, humbly solicit pardon from God, and implore time to 
IV. confess, and satisfy for his sins. Above all, let him supplicate 
the aid of divine grace, by which he may be fortified against a 
relapse into those crimes, the commission of which he now 
V- penitently deplores. The faithful are also to be excited to a 
hatred of sin, arising from the consideration of its baseness 
and turpitude, and of the evils and calamities ofwhichitis 
the poisoned source, estranging us, as it does, from the friend- 
ship of God, to whom we are already indebted for so many in- 
valuable blessings and from whom we might have expected to 
receive gifts of still higher value, and consigning us to eternal 
death, to be the unhappy victims of the most excruciating tor- 
ments. 
Confes- Having said thus much on contrition, we now come to con- 

sion,itsim- ° # ' 

portance. fession which is another part of penance. The care and ex- 
actness which its exposition demands, must be at once obvi- 
ous, if we only reflect, that whatever of piety, of holiness, of 
religion, has been preserved to our times in the Church of 
God, is, in the general opinion of the truly pious, to be ascribed 
in a great measure, under divine Providence, to the influence 
of Confession. It cannot, therefore, be matter of surprise, 
that the enemy of the human race, in his efforts to level to its 
foundation the fabric of Catholicity, should, through the agen- 
cy of the ministers of his wicked designs, have assailed, with 
all his might, this bulwark of Christian virtue. The pastor, 
therefore, will teach, in the first place, that the institution of 
confession is most useful and even necessary. 

II. Contrition, it is true, blots out sin ; but who is ignorant, that 
to effect this, it must be so intense, so ardent, so vehement, as 
to bear a proportion to the magnitude of the crimes which it 
effaces ? This is a degree of contrition which few reach, and 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 253 

hence, through perfect contrition alone, very few indeed could 
hope to obtain the pardon of their.sins. It, therefore, became 
necessary, that the Almighty, in his mercy, should afford a less 
precarious and less difficult means of reconciliation, and of sal- 
vation ; and this he has done, in his admirable wisdom, by giv- 
ing to his Church the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Accord- 
ing to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, a doctrine firmly to 
be believed and professed by all her children, if the sinner have 
recourse to the tribunal of penance with a sincere sorrow for 
his sins, and a firm resolution of avoiding them in future, al- 
though he bring not with him that contrition which may be 
sufficient of itself to obtain the pardon of sin : his sins are for- 
given by the minister of religion, through the power of the 
keys. Justly, then, do the Holy Fathers proclaim, that by the 
keys of the Church the gate of heaven is thrown open ; (73) a 
truth which the decree of the Council of Florence, declaring 
that the effect of penance is absolution from sin, renders it im- 
perative on all, unhesitatingly to believe. (74) 

To appreciate the advantages of confession, we should not III. 
lose sight of an argument which has the sanction of experience. 
To those who have led immoral lives, nothing is found so use- 
ful towards a reformation of morals, as sometimes to disclose 
their secret thoughts, their words, their actions, to a prudent 
and faithful friend, who can guide them by his advice, and as- 
sist them by his co-operation. On the same principle must it 
prove most salutary to those, whose minds are agitated by the 
consciousness of guilt, to make known the diseases and wounds 
of their souls to the priest, as the vice-gerent of Jesus Christ, 
bound to eternal secrecy by every law human and divine. In 
the tribunal of penance they will find immediate remedies, the 
healing qualities of which will not only remove the present ma- 
lady, but also prove of such lasting efficacy as to be, in future, 
an antidote against the easy approach of the same moral dis- 
ease. 

Another advantage, derivable from confession, is too impor- IV. 
tant to be omitted : confession contributes powerfully to the 

(73) Ambr. serm. 1. de quadrag. citatur do pcenit. dist. 1. c. ecce nunc. Au- 
gust, lib. 2. de adul. eonjug. 59. Chrysost. de saccrdot. lib. 3. 

(14) Flor. Cone, in decreto Eugenii IV. de pcenit. dist. 6. e. sacerdos. 



«>54 THE CATECHISM OF 

preservation of social order. Abolish sacramental confession, 
and, that moment, you deluge society with all sorts of secret 
crimes — crimes too, and others of still greater enormity, which 
men, once that they have been depraved by vicious habits, will 
not dread to commit in open day. The salutary shame that 
attends confession, restrains licentiousness, bridles desire, and 
coerces the evil propensities of corrupt nature. 
Nature & Having explained the advantages of confession, the pastor 
efficacy of -jj t ua f \ ( [ j ts na t U re and efficacy. Confession, then, is 

confession. J ' ' 

defined " A sacramental accusation of one's-self, "made to ob- 
" tain pardon by viitue of the keys." It is, properly called 
" an accusation," because sins are not to be told as if the sinner 
boasted of his crimes, as they do, " who are glad when they 
" have done evil ;" (75) nor are they to be related as idle sto- 
ries or passing occurrences, to amuse : they are to be confess- 
ed as matters of self-accusation, with a desire, as it were to 
avenge them on ourselves. But we confess our sins with a view 
to obtain the pardon of them; and, in this respect, the tribu- 
nal of penance differs from other tribunals, which take cogni- 
zance of capital offences, and before which a confession of 
guilt is sometimes made, not to secure acquittal but to justify 
the sentence of the law. The definition of confession by the 
Holy Fathers, (76) although different in words, is substantial- 
ly the same: "Confession," says S. Augustine, "is the dis- 
" closure of a secret disease, with the hope of obtaining a cure ;" 

(77) and S.Gregory: " confession is a detestation of sins:" 

(78) both of which accord with, and are contained in the pre- 
ceding definition. 

Instituted The pastor will next teach, with all the decision due to a re- 
by Christ. vea ] e( j truth, a truth of paramount importance, that this Sacra- 
ment owes its institution to the singular goodness and mercy 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ordered all things well, and sole- 
ly with a view to our salvation. (79) After his resurrection 
he breathed on the assembled Apostles, saying : " Receive ye 

(75) Prov. ii. 14. (76) Chrysost. 20, in Genes. 

(11) Aug. ser. 4, de verbis Domini. (IS) Greg. horn. 40. in Evangel. 

(79) Vid. Trid. sess. 14. de paenit. c. 5. et can. 6. Aug. lib. 50. horn, homil. 
64, et citatur de pcenit. dist. 1. c. agite. Orig. hom. 1 in Fsal. 37. Chrysost. de 
sacerd. lib. 3. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 255 

" the Holy Ghost, whose sins you shall forgive, they are for- 
" given; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." 
(80; By investing the sacerdotal character with power to re- 
tain as well as to remit sins, he, thus, it is manifest, constitutes 
them judges in the causes, on which this discretionary power 
is to be exercised. This he seems to have signified when, hav- 
ing raised Lazarus from the dead, he commanded his Apostles 
to loose him from the bands in which he was bound. (81) This 
is the interpretation of S. Augustine : " They," says he, "the 
" priests, can now do more : they can exercise greater clemency 
"towards those who confess,, and whose sins they forgive. 
" The Lord by the hands of his Apostles delivered Lazarus, 
" whom he had already raised from the dead, to be loosed by 
"the hands of his disciples; thus giving us to understand that 
" to priests was given the power of loosing." (82) To this, al- II- 
so, refers the command given by our Lord to the lepers cured 
on the way, to show themselves to the priests, and subject 
themselves to their judgment. (83) Invested then, as they are, 
by our Lord with power to remit and retain sins, priests are, ev- 
idently, appointed judges of the matter on which they are to 
pronounce ; and as, according to the wise admonition of the 
Council of Trent, we cannot form an accurate judgment on any 
matter, or award to crime a just proportion of punishment, 
without having previously examined, and made ourselves well 
acquainted with the cause; hence arises a necessity, on the 
part of the penitent, of making known to the priest, through 
the medium of confession, each and every sin. (84) This doc- 
trine, a doctrine defined by the holy synod, of Trent, the uni- 
form doctrine of the Catholic Church, the pastor will teach. 
An attentive perusal of the Holy Fathers will present innume- IIL 
rable passages throughout their works, proving in the clear- 
est terms that this Sacrament was instituted by our Lord, and 
that the law of sacramental confession, which, from the Greek, 

(80) John, xx. 22, 23. (SI) John, xi. 44. 

(82) De vera et falsa, pcenit. c. 16. et serm. 8. de verbis Domini. 

(83) Luke, xvii. 14. 

(84) Sess. 14. c. 5. et can. 7. de poenit. Sacerdotes esse peccatorum judices 
docent August, lib. 20. de civit. Dei, c. 9. Hieron. epist. 1. ad Heliod. Clirysost. 
lib. 3. de Sacerd. et hom. 5. de verbis Isaise. Greg. hom. 26. in Evang. Ambr. 
lib. 2. de Cain, cap. 4. Trid. sess. 14. de poenit. c. 5. can. 7. 



256 THE CATECHISM OF 

they call " exomologesis," and " exagoreusis," is to be re- 
ceived as evangelical. That the different sorts of sacrifices, 
which were offered by the priests for the expiation of differ- 
ent sorts of sins, seem, beyond all doubt, to have reference to 
sacramental confession, an examination of the figures of the Old 
Testament will also evince. 
Rites and Not only are the faithful to be taught that confession was 
usedn't 11163 instituted by our Lord; but they are also to be reminded that, 
confession, by authority of the Church, have been added certain rites and 
solemn ceremonies, which, although not essential to the Sacra- 
ment, serve to place its dignity more fully before the eyes of 
the penitent, and to prepare his soul, now kindled into devo- 
tion, the more easily to receive the grace of the Sacrament. 
When, with uncovered head, and bended knees, with eyes fix- 
ed on the earth, and hands raised in supplication to heaven, and 
with other indications of Christian humility not essential to the 
Sacrament, we confess our sins, our minds are thus deeply im- 
pressed with a clear conviction of the heavenly virtue of the 
Sacraments, and also of the necessity of humbly imploring and 
of earnestly importuning the mercy of God. 
Confession Nor let it be supposed that confession, although instituted 
necessary. ^ Qur L orc ^ i s no t declared by him necessary for the remis- 
sion of sin : the faithful must be impressed with the conviction, 
that he, who is dead in sin, is to be recalled to spiritual life by 
means of sacramental confession, a truth clearly conveyed by 
our Lord himself, when, by a most beautiful metaphor, he calls 
the power of administering this sacrament, " the keys of the 
"kingdom of heaven" (85.) To obtain admittance into any 
place, the concurrence of him to whom the keys have been 
committed is necessary, and therefore, as the metaphor 
implies, to gain admission into heaven, its gates must be open- 
ed to us by the power of the keys, confided by Almighty God 
to the care of his Church. This power would otherwise be 
nugatory : if heaven can be entered without the power of the 
keys, in vain shall they to whose fidelity they have been en- 
trusted, assume the prerogative of prohibiting indiscriminate 
entrance within its portals. This doctrine was familiar to the 

(S5)Mattli xvi. 19. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 257 

mind of St. Augustine: "Let no man," says he, "say within 

" himself, ' I repent in secret with God ; God, who has power 

" ' to pardon me, knows the inmost sentiments of my heart :' 

" was there no reason for saying : ' whatsoever you loose on 

" ' earth, shall be loosed in heaven,' (86) no reason why the 

" keys were given to the Church of God !" (87) The same 

doctrine is recorded by the pen of S. Ambrose, in his treatise 

on penance, when refuting the heresy of the Novatians, who 

asserted, that the power of forgiving sins belonged solely to 

God : " Who," says he, " yields greater reverence to God, he 

" who obeys or he who resists his commands ? God commands 

" us to obey his ministers ; and by obeying them, we honour 

"God alone." (88) 

As the law of confession was, no doubt, enacted and estab- Confession 

obligatory, 
lishedby our Lord himself, it is our duty to ascertain, on whom, at what 

at what age, and at what period of the year, it becomes oblig- age ' 
atory. According to the canon of the Council of Lateran, 
which begins : " Omnis utriusque sexus," no person is bound 
by the law of confession until he has arrived at the use of rea- 
son, a time determinable by no fixed number of years. (89) It 
may, however, be laid down as a general principle, that chil- 
dren are bound to go to confession, as soon as they are able to 
discern good from evil, and are capable of malice ; for, when 
arrived at an age to attend to the work of salvation, every one 
is bound to have recourse to the tribunal of penance, without 
which the sinner cannot hope for salvation. In the same ca- At what 
non the Church has defined the period within which we are time ' 
bound to discharge the duty of confession : it commands all the 
faithful to confess their sins at least once a year. (90) If, how- 
ever, we consult for our eternal interests, we shall certainly not 
neglect to have recourse to confession as often, at least, as we 
are in danger of death, or undertake to perform any act incom- 
patible with the state of sin, such as to administer or receive 
the sacraments. The same rule should be strictly followed 
when we are apprehensive of forgetting some sin, into which 
we may have had the misfortune to fall : to confess our sins, 

(86) Lib. 50. hom. 49. (S7) Matth. xviii. 18. (88) Lib. 1. de poen. 2. 
(89) Lat. cone. cap. 22. (90 ) Lat. cone. cap. 21. 

33 



258 THE CATECHISM OF 

we must recollect them ; and the remission of them we can on 
ly obtain through the sacrament of penance, of which confes- 
sion is a part. 

But as, in confession, many things are to be observed, some 
essential to of which are essential, some not essential to the sacrament, the 
confession faithful are to be carefully instructed on all these matters ; and 
in what it the pastor can have access to works, from which such instruc- 

consists* 

tions may easily be drawn. Amongst these matters, he will, 
on no account, omit to inform the faithful, that to a good con- 
fession integrity is essential. All mortal sins must be revealed 
to the minister of religion : venial sins, which do not separate 
us from the grace of God, and into which we frequently fall, 
although as the experience of the pious proves proper and pro- 
fitable to be confessed, may be omitted without sin, and ex- 
piated by a variety of other means. (91) Mortal sins, as we 
have already said, although buried in the darkest secrecy, 
and also sins of desire only, such as are forbidden by the ninth 
and tenth commandments, are all and each of them to be made 
matter of confession. Such secret sins often inflict deeper 
wounds on the soul, than those which are committed openly 
and publicly. It is, however, a point of doctrine defined by the 
Council of Trent; (92) and as the Holy Fathers testify, the 
uniform and universal doctrine of the Catholic Church : " With- 
" out the confession of his sin," says S. Ambrose, " no man can 
"be justified from his sin." (93) In confirmation of the same 
doctrine, S. Jerome, on Ecclesiastes, says : " If the serpent, 
" the devil, has secretly, and without the knowledge of a third 
" person, bitten any one, and has infused into him the poison of 
" sin ; if unwilling to disclose his wound to his brother or mas- 
" ter, he is silent and will not do penance, his master who has 
"power to cure him, can render him no service." The same 
doctrine we find in S. Cyprian, in his sermon on the lapsed : 
" Although guiltless," says he, " of the heinous crime of sacri- 
" ficing to idols, or of having purchased certificates to that 
" effect ; yet, as they entertained the thought of doing so, they 

(91,) Quomodo venialia dimittantur vide Aug. in Ench. cap. 71. citatur de- 
poenit. dist. 3. c. de quotidianis, et in Cone. Tolet. 4. cap. 9. 

(92) Sess. 14. de pcenit. c. 5. et can. 1. 

(93) Lib. de Paradiso, c. 4. c. 1. super illud : si mordeat serpens. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 259 

" should confess it with grief, to the priest of God." (94) In 
fine, such is the unanimous voice, such the unvarying accord 
of all the Doctors of the Church (95) 

In confession we should employ all that care and exactness, Aggravat- 
which we usually hestow upon worldly concerns of the great- cumstanc- 
est moment, and all our efforts should be directed to effect the n g ^^r 



cure of our spiritual maladies and to eradicate sin from the to be men- 
soul. With the bare enumeration of our mortal sins, we should confession: 
not be satisfied ; that enumeration we should accompany with 
the relation of such circumstances as considerably aggravate 
or extenuate their malice. Some circumstances are such, as 
of themselves, to constitute mortal guilt ; on no account or oc- 
casion whatever, therefore, are such circumstances to be omit- 
ted. Has any one imbrued his hands in the blood of his fel- 
low man ? He must state whether his victim was a layman or 
an ecclesiastic. Has he had criminal intercourse with any 
one ? He must state whether the female was married or un- 
married, a relative or a person consecrated to God by vow. 
These are circumstances which alter the species of the sins : 
the first is called simple fornication ; the second, adultery ; the 
third, incest ; and the fourth, sacrilege. Again, theft is num- 
bered in the catalogue of sins ; but if a person has stolen a 
guinea, his sin is less grievous than if he had stolen one or two 
hundred guineas, or a considerable sum ; and if the stolen mo- 
ney were sacred, the sin would be still aggravated. To time 
and place the same observation equally applies; but the in- 
stances, in which these circumstances alter the complexion of 
an act, are so familiar and are enumerated by so many writers, 
as to supersede the necessity of a lengthened detail. Circum- When un- 
stances, such as these, are, therefore, to be mentioned ; but necessar y- 
those, which do not considerably aggravate, may be lawfully 
omitted. 

So important, as we have already said, is integrity to con- Concoal- 
fession, that if the penitent wilfully neglect to accuse himself ^n" n con- 

(94) Circa finem. 

(95) Singula peccata mortalia confiteri oportere docent August, lib. de vera 
et falsa pcenit. cap. 10. Gregor. homil. 10. super Ezekiel. Ambr. lib. de parad. 
cap. 14. Hieron. in Ecclesiast. c. 10. Cypr. de lapsis circa finem. Vid. et de 
pcenit. dist. 3. cap. suntplures, &.c. pluit. et ibid, ditst. 1. c. quem pocn. et ibid, 
pass. 



260 THE CATECHISM OF 

fession a of some sins which should be confessed, and suppress others, 

crime: the he not only does not obtain the pardon of his sins, but involves 

to^re?" himself in deeper guilt. Such an enumeration cannot be call- 

peated. ed sacramental confession : on the contrary, the penitent must 

repeat his confession, not omitting to accuse himself of having, 

under the semblance of confession, prophaned the sanctity of the 

Omission sacrament. But should the confession seem defective, either 

thro' for- because the penitent forgot some grievous sins, or because, al- 

getfulness though intent on confessing all his sins, he did not explore the 

render it recesses of his conscience with extraordinary minuteness, he is 

tTrepeat not bound to repeat his confession : it will be sufficient, when 

the confes- ne re collects the sins which he had forgotten, to confess them 
sion. . 

to a priest on a future occasion. We are not, however, to ex- 
amine our consciences with careless indifference, or evince such 
negligence in recalling our sins to our recollection, as if we 
were unwilling to remember them ; and should this have been 
the case, the confession must be reiterated. 
Confession Our confession should also be plain, simple and undisguised, 
plain, sim- not clothed in that artificial language with which some invest 
pie, undis- j^ whQ seem m0 re disposed to give an outline of their general 
manner of living, than to confess their sins. Our confession 
should be such as to reflect a true image of our lives, such as 
we ourselves know them to be, exhibiting as doubtful that 
which is doubtful, and as certain that which is certain. If then 
we neglect to enumerate our sins, or introduce extraneous 
matter, our confession, it is clear, wants this quality. 
Prudent, Prudence and modesty in explaining matters of confession 
are also much to be commended, and a superfluity of words is 
to be carefully avoided : whatever is necessary to make known 
the nature of every sin, is to be explained briefly and modest- 

iy. 

taXserv- Secrecy should be strictly observed as well by penitent as 
ed by priest priest, and, hence, because in such circumstances secrecy must 

and peni- , • r 1 

tent. he insecure, no one can, on any account, confess by messenger 

or letter. 
Frequent But, above all, the faithful should be most careful to cleanse 

confession. .* • ' . r . , r ~ , 

their consciences from sin by frequent confession : when op- 
pressed by mortal guilt, nothing can be more salutary, so pre- 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 261 

carious is human life, than to have immediate recourse to the 
tribunal of penance ; but could we even promise ourselves 
length of days, yet should not we, who are so particular in 
whatever relates to cleanliness of dress or person, blush to 
evince less concern in preserving the lustre of the soul pure 
and unsullied from the foul stains of sin. 

We now come to treat of the minister of this sacrament — The ™? is - 

ter of the 

That the minister of the sacrament of penance must be a priest sacrament 
possessing ordinary or delegated jurisdiction, the laws of the ° penance 
Church sufficiently declare: whoever discharges this sacred 
function must be invested, not only with the power of orders, 
but also with that of jurisdiction. Of this ministry we have an 
illustrious proof in these words of the Redeemer, recorded by 
St. John: " Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven, 
" and whose sins you shall retain they are retained ;" (96) 
words addressed not to all but to the Apostles only, to whom, 
in this function of the ministry, priests succeed. This admir- 
ably accords with the economy of religion, for, as the grace 
imparted by this sacrament emanates from Christ, the head, 
and is diffused through his members, they who alone have 
power to consecrate his true body, should alone have power 
to administer this sacrament to his mystical body, the faith- 
ful ; particularly as they are qualified and disposed by means 
of the sacrament of penance, to receive the Holy Eucharist. 
The scrupulous care which, in the primitive ages of the 
Church, guarded the right of the ordinary priest, is very 
intelligible from the ancient decrees of the Fathers, which 
provided, " that no bishop or priest, except in case of ne- 
cessity, presume to exercise any function in the pa- 
" rish of another without the authority of the ordinary ;" a law 
which derives its sanction from the Apostle, when he com- 
manded Titus to ordain priests in every city, (97) to adminis- 
ter to the faithful the heavenly food of doctrine and of the sa- 
craments. But in case of imminent danger of death, when re- Any priest 
course cannot be had to the proper priest, that none may per- tor San" 
ish, the Council of Trent teaches that, according to the ancient extreme 
practice of the church of God, it is then lawful for any priest, 

(96) John xx. 23. (91) Tit. i. 5. 



262 THE CATECHISM OF 

not only to remit all sorts of sins, whatever faculties they might 
otherwise require, but also to absolve from excommunication. 
(98) 
Qualifica- Besides the power of orders and of jurisdiction, which are 

tionsofthe r . . . J . ' 

minister, ot absolute necessity, the minister of this sacrament, holding as 
he does, the place at once of judge and physician, should also 

Know- be gifted with knowledge and prudence. As judge, his know- 
ledge, it is evident, should be more than ordinary, for by it he 
is to examine into the nature of sins, and, amongst the various 
sorts of sins, to judge which are grievous and which are not, 

Prudence, keeping in view the rank and condition of the person. As phy- 
sician, he has also occasion for consummate prudence, for to 
him it belongs to administer to the distempered soul those 
sanative medicines, which will not only effect the cure of her 
present malady, but prove preservatives against its future con- 
tagion. (99) The faithful, therefore, will perceive the great 
importance to be attached to the choice of a confessor, and 
will use their best endeavours to choose one who is recom- 

Integrity mended by integrity of life, by learning and prudence, who is 
deeply impressed with the awful weight and responsibility of 
the station which he holds, who understands well the punish- 
ment due to every sin, and can also discern who are to be loos- 
ed and who to be bound. 

The seal of But as all are anxious that their sins should be buried in eter- 

confession. . . 

nal secrecy, the faithful are to be admonished that there is no 
reason whatever to apprehend, that what is made known in 
confession will ever be revealed by any priest, or that by it 
the penitent can, at any time, be brought into danger or diffi- 
culty of any sort. All laws human and divine guard the invio- 
lability of trie seal of confession, and against its sacrilegious 
infraction the Church denounces her heaviest chastisements. 
(100) " Let the priest," says the great Council of Lateran, 
" take especial care, neither by word nor sign, nor by any oth- 
"er means whatever, to betray, in the least degree, the sa- 
" cred trust confided to him by the sinner." (101 ) 

Negligence Having treated of the minister of this sacrament, the order 
of sinners. 

(98) Sess. 14. c. 6. de poenit. (99) Ex Basil, in reg. brevibus, q. ii. 29. 

(100) Ex Leonis Papse epist. SO. (101) Cap. 21. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 263 

of our matter requires, that we next proceed to explain some 
general heads, which are of considerable practical importance 
with regard to confession. Many, to whom, in general, no 
time seems to pass so slowly as that which is appointed by the 
laws of the Church for the duty of confession, so far from giv- 
ing due attention to those other matters, which are obviously 
most efficacious in conciliating the favour and friendship of 
God, are placed at such a distance from Christian perfection, 
as scarcely to recollect the sins, which are to be the matter of 
their confession. As, therefore, nothing is to be omitted, J he con " 

7 ' ° 7 fessor will 

which can assist the faithful in the important work of salva- observe if 
tion, the priest will be careful to observe, if the penitent be tent be tm- 
truly contrite for his sins, and deliberately and firmly resolved ly contrite, 
to avoid sin for the future. If the sinner is found to be thus How to be 
disposed, he is to be admonished and earnestly exhorted, to ^^1 
pour out his heart in gratitude to God for this invaluable bless- 
ing, and supplicate unceasingly the aid of divine grace, shield- 
ed by which he may securely combat the evil propensities of 
corrupt nature. He should also be taught, not to suffer a day 
to pass, without devoting a portion of it to meditation on some 
mystery of the passion, in order to excite himself to an imita- 
tion of his great model, and inflame his heart with ardent love 
for his Redeemer. The fruit of such meditation will be, to 
fortify him more and more, every day, against all the assaults 
of the devil ; for, what other reason is there, why our courage 
sinks, and our strength fails, the moment the enemy makes 
even the slighest attack on us, but that we neglect, by pious 
meditation, to kindle within us the fire of divine love, which ani- 
mates and invigorates the soul ? But, should the priest perceive, If not con- 
that the penitent gives equivocal indications of true contrition, tnte : 
he will endeavour to inspire him with an anxious desire for it, 
inflamed by which he may resolve to ask and implore this 
heavenly gift from the mercy of God. 

The pride of some, who seek by vain excuses to justify or If fond of 
extenuate their offences, is carefully to be repressed. If, for orextenu- 
instance, a penitent confesses that he was wrought up to anger, at ™g his 
and immediately transfers the blame of the excitement to ano- 
ther, who, he complains, was the aggressor ; he is to be re- 



264 THE CATECHISM OF 

minded, that such apologies are indications of a proud spirit, and 
of a man who either thinks lightly of, or is unacquainted with 
the enormity of his sin, whilst they serve rather to aggravate 
than extenuate his guilt. He, who thus lahours to justify his 
conduct, seems to say, that then only will he exercise patience, 
when no one injures or offends him, a disposition than which 
nothing can be more unworthy of a Christian. A Christian 
should lament the state of him who inflicted the injury ; and, 
yet, regardless of the grievousness of the sin, he is angry with 
his brother : having had an opportunity of honouring God by 
his exemplary patience, and of correcting a brother by his 
Christian meekness, he converts the very means of salvation 
into the means of injuring his own soul. 
If under Still more pernicious is the conduct of those, who, yielding 
ence"of U " to a foolish bashfulness, cannot induce themselves to confess 
a false their sins. Such persons are to be encouraged by exhorta- 
tion, and to be reminded, that there is no reason whatever 
why they should yield to such false delicacy; that to no one 
can it appear surprising, if persons fall into sin, the common 
malady of the human race, and the natural appendage of hu- 
man infirmity. 
If indolent There are others, who, either because they seldom ap- 

or negli- 

gent. proach the tribunal of penance, or because they have bestow- 
ed no care or attention on the examination of their consciences, 
know not well how to begin or end their confession. Such 
persons deserve to be severely rebuked, and are to be taught 
that, before any one approaches the tribunal of penance, he 
should employ every diligence to excite himself to contrition 
for his sins, and that this he cannot do without endeavouring 
to know and recollect them severally. Should then the con- 
fessor meet persons of this class, entirely unprepared for con- 
fession, he should dismiss them without harshness, exhorting 
them in the kindest terms, to take some time to reflect on their 
sins, and then return ; but, should they declare that they have 
already done every thing in their power to prepare, as there is 
reason to apprehend, that, if sent away, they may not return, 
their confession is to be heard, particularly if they manifest 
some disposition to amend their lives, and can be induced to 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 265 

accuse their own negligence, and promise to atone for it at an- 
other time, by a diligent and accurate scrutiny of conscience. 
In such cases, however, the confessor will proceed with cau- 
tion. If, after having heard the confession, he is of opinion 
that the penitent did not want diligence in examining his con- 
science, or sorrow in detesting his sins, he may absolve him; 
but if he has found him deficient in both, he will, as we have 
already said, admonish him to use greater care in his examina- 
tion of conscience, and will dismiss him in the kindest manner. 

But as it sometimes happens, that females, who may have A remedy 
forgotten some sin in a former confession, cannot bring them- modesty 
selves to return to the confessor, dreading to expose them- "f the pen- 
selves to the suspicion of having been guilty of something itent. 
grievous, or of looking for the praise of extraordinary piety, 
the pastor will frequently remind the faithful, both publicly and 
privately, that no one is gifted with so tenacious a memory, as 
to be able to recollect all his thoughts, words and actions, that 
the faithful, therefore, should they call to mind any thing griev- 
ous, which they had previously forgotten, should not be deter- 
red from returning to the priest. These and many other mat- 
ters of the same nature, demand the particular attention of the 
confessor in the tribunal of penance. 

We now come to the third part of penance, which is called Satisfac- 
satisfaction. We shall begin by explaining its nature and effi- 
cacy, because the enemies of the Catholic Church have hence 
taken ample occasion, to sow discord and division amongst 
Christians, to the no small injury of the Christian Common- 
wealth. Satisfaction, then, is the full payment of a debt, for 
when satisfaction is made, nothing remains to be supplied. 
Hence, when we speak of reconciliation by grace, to satisfy is 
the same as to do that which may be sufficient to atone to the 
angered mind for an injury offered ; and thus, satisfaction is no- 
thing more than " compensation for an injury done to another." 
Hence theologians make use of the word " satisfaction," to 
signify the compensation made by man to God, by doing some- 
thing in atonement for the sins which he has committed. 

This sort of satisfaction, embracing, as it does, many de- its differ- 
grees, admits of many acceptations. The first degree of sat- ent d fS rees 

34 



i THE CATECHISM OF 

isfaction, and that which stands preeminently above all the rest, 
is that by which whatever is due by us to God, on account of 
our sins, is paid abundantly, although he should deal with us 
according to the strictest rigour of his justice. This, we say, 
has appeased God and rendered him propitious to us, and for 
it we are indebted to Christ alone, who, having paid the price 
of our sins on the cross, offered to his Eternal Father a super- 
abundant satisfaction. No created being could have paid so 
heavy a debt for us : " He is the propitiation for our sins," says 
S. John, " and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole 
" world." (102) This satisfaction, therefore, is full and super- 
abundant, commensurate to all sorts of sins perpetrated by the 
human race : it gives to man's actions merit before God ; with- 
out it they could avail him nothing to eternal life. This, Da- 
vid seems to have had in view, when, having asked him- 
self, " what shall I render to the Lord, for all the things 
" that he hath rendered to me ?" (103) and finding nothing wor- 
thy of such blessings but this satisfaction, which he expressed 
by the word " chalice," he replies : " I will take the chalice of 
" salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord." (104) 

II. There is another sort of satisfaction, which is called canoni- 
cal, and is performed within a certain fixed period of time. 
Hence, according to the most ancient practice of the Church, 
when penitents are absolved from their sins, some penance is 
imposed, the performance of which is commonly called " sat- 
" isfaction." 

III. Any sort of punishment endured for sin, although not impos- 
ed by the priest, but spontaneously undertaken by the sinner, 
is also called by the same name : it belongs not, however, to 
penance as a sacrament: the satisfaction which constitutes 
part of the sacrament is, as we have already said, that which 
is imposed by the priest, and which must be accompanied with 
a deliberate and firm purpose carefully to avoid sin for the fu- 
ture. To satisfy, as some define it, is to pay due honor to God, 
and this, it is evident, no person can do, who is not resolved to 
avoid sin. To satisfy is also to cut off all occasions of sin, and 
to close every avenue of the heart against its suggestions. In 

(102) 1 John, ii. 2. (103) Ps. cxv. 12. (104) cxv. 13. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 267 

accordance with this idea of satisfaction, some have considered 
it a cleansing, which effaces whatever defilement may remain 
in the soul from the stains of sin, and which exempts us from 
the temporal chastisements due to sin. 

Such being the nature of satisfaction, it will not be found Necessity 
difficult to convince the faithful of the necessity imposed on tion. 
the penitent, of satisfying for his sins : they are to be taught 
that sin carries in its train two evils, the stain which it affixes, 
and the punishment which it entails. The punishment of eter- 
nal death is, it is true, forgiven with the sin to which it was 
due, yet as the Council of Trent declares, the stain is not al- 
ways entirely effaced, nor is the temporal punishment always 
remitted. (105) Of this the Scriptures afford many evident 
examples, as we find in the third chapter of Genesis, (106) in 
the twelfth and twenty-second of Numbers, (107) and in many 
other places. That of David, however, is the most conspicu- 
ous and illustrious. — Already had Nathan announced to him : 
" The Lord also hath taken away thy sin, thou shalt not die ;" 
(108) yet the royal penitent voluntarily subjected himself to 
the most severe penance, imploring, night and day, the mercy 
of God, in these words ; " Wash me yet more from my iniqui- 
u ty, and cleanse me from my sin, for I know my iniquity and 
" my sin is always before me." (109) Thus did he beseech 
God to pardon not only the crime, but also the punishment due 
to it, and to restore him, cleansed from the stains of sin, to his 
former state of purity and integrity. This is the object of his 
most earnest supplications to the throne of God, and yet the 
Almighty punishes his transgression with the death of his adul- 
terous offspring, the rebellion and death of his beloved son 
Absalom, and with the other heavy chastisements, with which 
his vengeance had already threatened him. In Exodus too the 
Almighty, although yielding to the importunity of Moses, he 
had spared the idolatrous Israelites, threatens the enormity of 
their crime with heavy chastisement ; (110) and Moses him- 
self declares, that the Lord will take vengeance on it, even to 
the third and fourth generation. That such was, at all times, 

(105) Sess. 14. c. 8. can. 12, et 14. (106) Gen. iii. 17. 

(107) Num. xii. 14, 22, 33, 34. (10S) 2 Kino-s, xii. 13. 

(109) Ps. 1. 4, 5. ("110) Exod. xxxii. 8, 9. 



268 THE CATECHISM OF 

the doctrine of the Fathers, a reference to their writings will 

place beyond the possibility of doubt. (Ill) 
The pun- Why in the sacrament of penance, as in that of baptism, the 
du^to'sin, punishment due to sin is not entirely remitted, is admirably ex- 
why not plained in these words of the Council of Trent: " Divine ius- 

remitted .".-■. J 

by penance" tice seems to require, that they who, through ignorance sin- 
tismf baP " " ned before baptism, should recover the friendship of God, in 
" a different manner from those, who, freed from the thraldom 
" of sin and the slavery of the devil, and having received the 
" gifts of the Holy Ghost, dread not knowingly to violate the 
" temple of God and grieve the Holy Spirit. It also consists. 
" with the divine mercy not to remit our sins without satisfac- 
" tion, lest, taking occasion hence, and imagining our sins less 
" grievous than they are, injurious, as it were, and contumeli- 
" ous to the Holy Ghost, we fall into greater enormities, trea- 
Advanta- " surm S U P to ourselves wrath against the day of wrath. These 
gesofea- " satisfactory penances, have, no doubt, great influence in re- 
nance* "straining from sin, in bridling, as it were, the passions, and 
** " rendering the sinner more vigilant and cautious for the fu- 
ll- " ture." (112) Another advantage resulting from them is, that 
they serve as public testimonies of our sorrow for sin, and 
atone to the Church who is grievously insulted by the crimes 
of her children : " God," says S. Augustine, " despises not a 
" contrite and humble heart, but, as heart-felt grief is general- 
ly concealed from others, and is not communicated by words 
" or other signs, wisely, therefore, are penitential times ap- 
" pointed by those who preside over the Church, in order to 
III- " atone to the Church, in which sins are forgiven." Besides, 
the example presented by our penitential practices, serves as 
a lesson to others, how to regulate their lives, and prac- 
tise piety: seeing the punishments inflicted on sin, they 
must feel the necessity of using the greatest circumspec- 
Wisely in- ti° n through life, and of correcting their former evil hab- 
stituted by ^ S- The Church, therefore, with great wisdom ordained, 

the Church 

(111) Vide Aug. lib. 2. de peccat. merit, et remiss, cap. 34. et contra Faust, 
lib. 22. cap. 66. et prsesertim in Joan, tractat. 124. paulo ante med. Greg. lib. 
9. moral, cap. 24. Chrysost. hom. 8. ad pop. Antioch. Iterum Aug. Ench. cap. 
30. Ambr. de poen. lib. 2. cap. 5. vide item canones pocnitentiales apud Anton. 
Aug. vel in actis Eccl. Mediolan. 

(112) Sess. 14. du pccnit. cap. 8. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 269 

that those who by their scandalous disorders may have given 
public disedification, should atone for them by public pen- 
ance, that others may be thus deterred from their commis- 
sion. This has sometimes been observed even with regard to 
secret sins, when marked by peculiar malignity. (113) But 
with regard to public sinners, they, as we have already said, 
were never absolved until they had performed public penance. 
Meanwhile, the pastor poured out his prayers to God for their 
salvation, and ceased not to exhort them to do the same. This 
salutary practice gave active employment to the zeal and so- 
licitude of S. Ambrose ; many, who came to the tribunal of pe- 
nance hardened in sin, were by his tears softened into true con- 
trition. (114) But in process of time the severity of ancient 
discipline was so relaxed, and charity waxed so cold, that in 
our days many seem to think inward sorrow of soul and grief 
of heart unnecessary, and deem the semblance of sorrow suffi- 
cient. 

Again, by undergoing these penances we are made like unto By pen- 
the image of Jesus Christ our head, inasmuch as he himself ma dJ uke 
suffered and was tempted, (115) and S. Bernard observes, untoChrist 
" nothing can appear. so unseemly as a delicate member under 
" a head crowned with thorns." (116) To use the words of 
the Apostle, " we are joint-heirs with Christ, yet so if we suf- 
" fer with him ;" (117) and again : " If we be dead with him, 
" we shall live also with him; if we suffer, we shall also reign 
"with him." (118) 

S. Bernard, also, observes, that sin produces two effects inTwo effects 
the soul, the one, the stain which it imparts, the other> the in the soul 
wound which it inflicts ; that the turpitude of sin is removed j^ ™{ r b e " 
through the mercy of God, whilst to heal the wound inflicted, penance, 
the medicinal cure applied by penance is most necessary ; for 
as after a wound has been healed, some scars remain which 
demand attention, so with regard to the soul, after the guilt 
of sin is forgiven, some of its effects remain, from which the 

(119) Vide Aug. lib. 5, de civit. Dei cap. 26. et ep. 54. et 1. 50. hom. 49. & 
de vera et falsa pcen. passim. Ambr. lib. 2. de pcenit. c. 10. et citatur de pccn. 
dist. 3. cap. reperiuntur. Cypr. de lapsis multis in locis. Cone. Agath. cap. 35. 
et citatur dist. 50. cap. poBnitentos. (H4) Paulinus in ejus vita. 

(115) Heb. ii. 17. (116) Serm. 5. de omn. sanct. 

(117) Rom. viii. 17. (118) 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12. 



270 THE CATECHISM OF 

soul requires to be cleansed. S. Chrysostom also fully con- 
firms the same doctrine, when he says : " Not enough that the 
" arrow has been extracted from the body, the wound which 
11 it inflicted must also be healed : so with regard to the soul, 
"not enough that sin has been pardoned, the wound which it 
"has left, must also be healed by penance." (119) S.Augustine, 
also, frequently teaches that penance exhibits at once the mercy 
and the justice of God ; his mercy by which he pardons sin, 
and the eternal punishment due to sin, his justice by which he 
exacts temporary punishment from the sinner. (120) 
Penance Finally, the punishment which the sinner endures, disarms 
^ a ™ s . the vengeance of God, and prevents the punishments decreed 
vengeance against us, according to these words of the Apostle: " If we 
" would judge ourselves, we should not be judged ; but whilst 
" we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we be not 
"condemned with this world." (121) These matters, if ex- 
plained to the faithful, must have considerable influence in ex- 
citing them to penance. 

Of the great efficacy of penance we may form some idea, 
cy of pen- if we reflect that it arises entirely from'the merits of the pas- 
entire a iy 1SeS s * on °^ our ^ 01 ^ J esus Christ : it is his passion that imparts to 
from the our good actions the two-fold quality of meriting the rewards 
Christ. of eternal life, so that a cup of cold water given in his name 
shall not be without its reward, (122) and, also, of satisfying 
for our sins. (123) Nor does this derogate from the most 
perfect and superabundant satisfaction of Christ, but, on the 
contrary, renders it still more conspicuous and illustrious ; the 
grace of Jesus Christ appears to abound more, inasmuch as 
it communicates to us not only what he alone merited, but al- 
so what, as head, he merited and paid in his members, that is, 
in holy and just men. This it is that imparts such weight and 
dignity to the good actions of the pious christian, for our Lord 
Jesus Christ continually infuses his grace into the devout soul 
united to him by Charity, as the head to the members, or as the 
vine through the branches, and this grace always precedes, ac- 

(119) Serm. 1. inccena Domini. Horn. 80. ad Pop. Antioch. 

(120) In Ps. 1. ad haec verba, ecce enim venit. 

(121) 1 Cor. xi. 31, 32. (122) Matth. x. 42. 
(123) Vid. de poenit. sess. 14. cap. 8. &. can. 13, 14. & sess. 6. de Justine, c. 

18. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 271 

companies, and follows our good works : without it we can 
have no merit, nor can we at all satisfy God. Hence it is that 
nothing seems wanting to the just : by their works done by the 
power of God, they fulfil the divine law, as far as is compati- 
ble with our present condition, and can merit eternal life, to 
the fruition of which they shall be admitted, if they depart 
this life adorned with divine grace : " He," says the Redeem- 
er, " that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall 
not thirst for ever ; but the water that I will give him shall 
" become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life 
" everlasting." (124) 

In satisfaction two things are particularly required ; the oneTwo things 
that he who satisfies be in a state of grace, the friend of God : P^2Sf" 

a 3 ly necessa- 

works done without faith and charity cannot be acceptable to ryinsatis- 
God: the other, that the works performed be such as are of 
their own nature painful or laborious. They are a compensation 
for past sins, and, to use the words of S. Cyprian, " the re- 
" deemers, as it were, of sins," (125) and must, therefore, be Note, 
such as we have described. It does not, however, always fol- 
low that they are painful or laborious to those who undergo 
them : the influence of habit or the intensity of divine love 
frequently renders the soul insensible to things the most diffi- 
cult to be endured. Such works, however, do not therefore, 
cease to be satisfactory : it is the privilege of the children of 
God to be so inflamed with his love, that, whilst undergoing 
the most cruel r tortures for his sake, they are either entirely 
insensible to them, or at least bear them not only with forti- 
tude but with the greatest joy. 

The pastor will teach that every species of satisfaction is 
included under these three heads, prayer, fasting and alms- f satisfac- 
deeds, which correspond with these three sorts of goods, Jjj Jjjjj 
those of the soul, of the body, and what are called externalthree heads 
goods, all of which are the gifts of God. Than these three 
sorts of satisfaction, nothing can be more effectual in eradicat- 
ing sin from the soul. Whatever is in the world is the lust of 
the flesh, the " lust of the eyes, or the pride of life." (126) and 
fasting, alms-deeds, and prayer are, it is obvious, most judi- 
ciously employed as antidotes to neutralize the operation of 

(124) John, iv. 14. (125) Lib. 1. Epist. 3. post. mod. (126) 1 John, ii. 16. 



another. 
Note 



272 THE CATECHISM OF 

these three causes of spiritual disease ; to the first is opposed 

fasting; to the second, alms-deeds ; to the third, prayer. If, 

moreover, we consider those whom our sins injure, we shall 

easily perceive why all satisfaction is referred principally to 

God, to our neighbour and to ourselves : God we appease by 

prayer, our neighbour we satisfy by alms, and ourselves we 

chastise by fasting. 

Use and ^ ut ' as ^ s ^ e * s chequered by many and various afflictions, 

advantage the faithful are to be particularly reminded, that afflictions 

turns. coming from the hand of God, if borne with patience, are an 

abundant source of satisfaction and of merit; but, if borne 

with reluctant impatience, far from being the means of atoning 

for past sins, they are rather the instruments of the divine 

wrath, taking just vengeance on the sinner. 

But in this the mercy and goodness of God shine conspicuous, 
satisfy for and demand our grateful acknowledgments, that he has granted 
to our frailty the privilege, that one may satisfy for another. 
This, however, is a privilege, which is confined to the satis- 
factory part of penance alone, and extends not to contrition 
and confession : no man can be contrite or confess for 
another ; whilst those who are gifted with divine grace may 
pay through others what is due to the divine justice, and thus 
we may be said in some measure to bear each other's burdens. 
(127) This is a doctrine on which the faithful cannot for a 
moment entertain a doubt, professing, as we do, in the Apos- 
tle's Creed, our belief in " the Communion of Saints." Re- 
generated, as we all are, to Christ in the same cleansing wa- 
ters of baptism, partakers of the same sacraments, and above 
all, of the same heavenly food, the body and blood of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, we are all, it is manifest, members of the same 
mystical body. As then the foot does not perform its func- 
tionf ra " ti° ns solely for itself, but also for sake of the other members, 
and as the other members perform their respective functions, 
not only for their own but also for the common good ; so, 
works of satisfaction are common to all the members of the 
Church. This, however, is not universally true in reference 
to all advantages to be derived from works of satisfaction : of 
these works some are also medicinal, and arc so many specific 

(121) Gal. vi. 2. 



Note. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 273 

remedies prescribed to the penitent, to heal the depraved af- 
fections of the heart ; a fruit which, it is evident, they alone 
can derive from them, who satisfy for themselves. Of these 
particulars touching the three parts of penance, contrition, con- 
fession and satisfaction, it is the duty of the pastor to give an 
ample and clear exposition. 

The confessor, however, will be scrupulously careful, be- tobe^-" 
fore he absolves the penitent whose confession he has heard, solved, un- 
to insist that if he has been really guilty of having injured his promised 
neighbour in property or character, he make reparation for ^ ^palr 
the injury : no person is to be absolved until he has first faith- the injury 
fully promised to repair fully the injury done; and, as there are 
many who, although free to make large promises to comply 
with their duty in this respect, are yet deliberately determin- 
ed not to fulfil them, they should be obliged to make restitu- 
tion, and the words of the Apostle are to be strongly and fre- 
quently pressed upon their minds : " He that stole, let him now 
" steal no more : but rather let him labour working with his 
" hands the thing which is good, that he may have something 
"to give to him that suffereth need." (128) 

But, in imposing penance, the confessor will do nothing ar- £® na f c ? 
bitrarily ; he will be guided solely by justice, prudence, and imposed, 
piety ; and in order to follow this rule, and also to impress 
more deeply on the mind of the penitent the enormity of sin, 
he will find it expedient to remind him of the severe punish- 
ments inflicted by the ancient penitential canons, as they are 
called, for certain sins. The nature of the sin, therefore, will 
regulate the extent of the satisfaction ; but no satisfaction can 
be more salutary than to require of the penitent to devote, for 
a certain number of days, a certain portion of time to prayer, 
not omitting to supplicate the divine mercy in behalf of all 
mankind, and particularly for those who have departed this 
life in the Lord. Penitents should, also, be exhorted to under- 
take of their own accord, the frequent performance of the pe- 
nances usually imposed by the confessor, and so to order the 
tenor of their future lives, that having faithfully complied with 
every thing which the sacrament of Penance demands, they 

(128) Ephes. iv. 28. 

35 



274 THE CATECHISM OF 

may never cease studiously to practise the virtue of penance. 
Public But, should it be deemed proper sometimes to visit public 

crimes to . . ,,111 

be visited crimes with public penance, and should the penitent express 
Mnance S rea ^ reluctance to submit to its performance, his importunity 
is not to be readily yielded to : he should be persuaded to em- 
brace with cheerfulness that which is so salutary to himself 
and to others. These things, which regard the sacrament of 
Penance and its several parts, the pastor will teach in such a 
manner as to enable the faithful not only to understand them 
perfectly, but, also, with the Divine assistance, piously and 
religiously to reduce them to practice. 



THE SACRAMENT OF EXTREME UNCTION. 



This Sa- " In all thy works," says Ecclesiasticus, " remember thy 
shouldbe "l ast encl i anc * tnou shalt never sin:" (1) words which convey 
the subject to the pastor a silent admonition, to omit no opportunity of ex- 
instruction hor ting the faithful to constant meditalion on their last end. 
The sacrament of Extreme Unction, because inseparably asso- 
ciated with this awful recollection, should, it is obvious, form 
a subject of frequent instruction, not only, inasmuch as it is 
eminently useful to develope the mysteries of salvation, but al- 
so because death, the inevitable doom of all men, when fre- 
quently recalled to the minds of the faithful, represses the licen- 
tiousness of depraved passion. Thus shall they be less appall- 
ed by the terrors of approaching dissolution, and will pour 
forth their gratitude in endless praises to God, whose goodness 
has not only opened to us the way to true life in the sacrament 
of Baptism, but has also instituted that of Extreme Unction, to 
afford us, when departing this mortal life, an easier access to 
heaven. 

(l)Eccles. vii. 40. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 275 

In order, therefore, to follow, in a great measure, the same This sacra- 

, . , ■•/.,, ment why 

order observed in the exposition of the other sacraments, we called Ex- 
will first show that this sacrament is called " Extreme Unc- }™ meUnc " 
" tion," because among the other unctions prescribed by our 
Lord to His Church, this is the last to be administered. It 
was hence called by our predecessors in the faith, " the sacra- 
" ment of the anointing of the sick," and also, " the sacra- 
" ment of dying persons," names which naturally lead the minds 
of the faithful to the remembrance of that last awful hour. (2) 

That Extreme Unction is, strictly speaking, a sacrament, is Proved to 
first to be explained ; and this the words of S. James, promul- I ^ e n t sacra " 
gating the law of this sacrament, clearly establish : " Is any L 
"man," says he, "sick amongst you? Let him bring in the 
" priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing 
" him with oil in the name of the Lord : and the prayer of 
" faith shall save the sick man ; and the Lord shall raise him 
" up ; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him." (3) 
When the Apostle says : " if he be in sins, they shall be for- 
" given him," he ascribes to Extreme Unction, at once the na- 
ture and efficacy of a sacrament. That such has been at all H- 
times the doctrine of the Catholic Church, many councils testi- 
fy, and the Council of Trent denounces anathema against all 
who presume to teach or think otherwise. (4) Innocent III, 
also, recommends this sacrament with great earnestness to the 
attention of the faithful. (5) The pastor, therefore, will teach Note, 
that Extreme Unction is a true sacrament, and that, although 
administered with many unctions, performed each with a pecu- 
liar prayer, and under a peculiar form, it constitutes but one 
sacrament — one, not by the inseparable continuity of its parts, 
but, like every thing composed of parts by the perfection of 
the whole. As an edifice, which consists of a great variety of 
parts, derives its perfection from one form, so is this sacrament, 
although composed of many and different things, but one sign, 
and its efficacy is that of one thing of which it is the sign. 

The pastor will also teach what are the component parts of Its matter. 

(2) Vid. Hugon. de Sacr. part. 15. c. '-. Pet. Darn, serin. 1. de dedicat. Eccl. 

(3) James, v. 14. (4) Sess. 43. de Extrem. Unc. c. 1. & can. 3. 

(5) Innoc. ep. 1. ad Decent, c. 8. & citaturdist. 05. c. illud superfluum: item 
Cone. Cabilon. c. IS. Wonnacicncc c. 72. Constat), et Floren. 



276 THE CATECHISM OF 

this Sacrament, its matter and form : these S. James does not 
omit, and each is replete with its own peculiar mysteries. (6) 
Its element, then, or matter, as defined by many Councils, par- 
ticularly by the Council of Trent, consists of oil of olives, con- 
secrated by episcopal hands. No other sort of oil can be the 
matter of this Sacrament ; and this its matter is most signifi- 
cant of its efficacy. Oil is very efficacious in soothing bodily 
pain, and this Sacrament soothes and alleviates the pain and 
anguish of the soul. Oil also contributes to restore health and 
spirits, serves to give light, and refreshes fatigue ; and these 
effects correspond with and are expressive of those produced, 
through the divine power, on the sick, by the administration 
of this Sacrament. These few words will suffice in explana- 
tion of the matter. 

Its form. With regard to the form, it consists of the following words, 
which contain a solemn prayer, and are used at each anointing, 
according to the sense to which the unction is applied : " By 
" this Holy Unction, and through his great mercy, 
" may God indulge thee whatever sins thou hast com- 
" mitted by sight, smell, touch, &c. &c." That this is 
the true form of this sacrament, we learn from these words of 
S. James : " Let them pray over him, and the prayer of faith 
" shall save the sick man ;" (7) words which intimate that the 
form is to be applied by way of prayer, although the Apostle 
does not say of what particular words that prayer is to consist. 
But this form has been handed down to us by apostolic tradi- 
tion, and is universally retained, as observed by the Church of 
Rome, the mother and mistress of all churches. Some, it is 
true, alter a few words, as when for " God indulge thee," they 
say, "God remit" or " spare," and sometimes, "heal, whatev- 
" er thou hast committed ;" but the sense is evidently the same, 
and, of course, the form observed by all is strictly the same. 

Expressed N or should it excite our surprise that, whilst the form of each 

by way of 

prayer* and of the other Sacraments either absolutely signifies what it ex- 

why * presses, such as, " I baptise thee," or " I sign thee with the 

" sign of the cross," or is pronounced, as it were, by way of 

a command, as in administering Holy Orders, " Receive pow- 

(6) James, v. 14. (7) James, v. 14, 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 277 

" er," the form of Extreme Unction alone is expressed by 
way of prayer. The propriety of this difference will at once 
appear, if we reflect, that this Sacrament is administered not 
only for the health of the soul, but also, for that of the body ; 
and as it does not please Divine Providence, at all times, to 
restore health to the sick, the form consists of a prayer, by 
which we beg of the divine bounty that which is not a constant 
and uniform effect of the Sacrament. 

In the administration of this Sacrament, peculiar rites are ^a^^of 
also used ; but they consist principally of prayers, offered by this Sa- 

i • r i r i • i mi crament, 

the priest for the recovery of the sick person. Ihere is no w h y ac- 
Sacrament the administration of which is accompanied with ^ , ™ h p ^ 1 n a „ d 
more numerous prayers ; and with good reason, for then, prayers. 
in a special manner, the faithful require the assistance of pious 
prayers. Not only the pastor, in the first place, but also, all 
who may be present, should pour out their fervent aspirations 
to the throne of grace, in behalf of the sick person, earnestly 
recommending him, soul and body to the divine mercy. 

Having thus shown that Extreme Unction is to be number- Thls Sa f 

° . , . • ■ crament 

ed amongst the Sacraments, we infer, and the inference is just, instituted 
that it owes its institution to our Lord Jesus Christ, and was y 
subsequently made known and promulgated to the faithful, by 
the Apostle S. James. Our Lord himself, would, however, 
seem to have given some indication of it, when he sent his dis- 
ciples, two and two, before him ; for the Evangelist informs 
us that " going forth, they preached that all should do pe- 
" nance ; and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil 
" many who were sick, and healed them." (8) This anointing Note, 
cannot be supposed to have been invented by the Apostles ; it 
was commanded by our Lord. Nor did its efficacy arise from 
any natural virtue peculiar to oil ; its efficacy is mystical, hav- 
ing been instituted to heal the maladies of the soul, rather than 
to cure the diseases of the body. This is the doctrine taught 
by the Fathers of the Church, by the Denises, the Ambroses, 
the Chrysostoms, by Gi egory the Great ; and Extreme Unc- 
tion is to be recognised and venerated as one of the Sacra- 
ments of the Catholic Church. 

(8) Mark, vi. 12, 13. 



278 THE CATECHISM OF 

Extreme But although instituted for the use of all, Extreme Unction 
whom and is not to be administered indiscriminately to all. In the first 
admhris- be P^ ace > ^ 1S n °t to ^ e administered to persons in sound health, 
tered. according to these words of S. James : " Is any one sick 
amongst you?" (9) and, as reason also proves, it was institut- 
ed as a remedy not only for the diseases of the soul, but also 
for those of the body : this can apply to the sick only, and, 
therefore, this sacrament is to be administered to those only, 
whose malady is such as to excite apprehensions of approach- 
ing dissolution. It is, however, a very grievous sin to defer 
the Holy Unction, until, all hope of recovery now lost, life be- 
gins to ebb, and the sick person is fast verging into a sta-te of 
insensibility. It is obvious that, if administered whilst the men- 
tal faculties are yet unimpaired, whilst reason still exercises 
her dominion, and the mind is capable of eliciting acts of faith, 
and of directing the will to sentiments of piety, the Sacrament 
must contribute to a more abundant participation of the graces 
which it imparts. This heavenly medicine, therefore, in itself 
at all times salutary, the pastor will be careful to apply, when 
its efficacy can be aided by the piety and devotion of the sick 
person. Extreme Unction, then, can be administered only to 
the sick, and not to persons in health, although engaged in any 
thing however dangerous, such as a perilous voyage, or the fa- 
tal dangers of battle. It cannot be administered even to per- 
sons condemned to death, and already ordered for execution. 
Its participation is also denied to insane persons, and to child- 
ren incapable of committing sin, who, therefore, do not re- 
quire to be purified from its stains, and also to those who la- 
bour under the awful visitation of madness, unless they give in- 
dications, in their lucid intervals, of a disposition to piety, and 
express a desire to be anointed. To persons insane from their 
birth, this Sacrament is not to be administered ; but if a sick 
person, whilst in the possession of his faculties, expressed a 
wish to receive Extreme Unction, and afterwards become de- 
lirious, he is to be anointed. 
How to be The Sacred Unction is to be applied not to the entire body, 
administer-tmt; to the organs of sense only — to the eyes the organs of sight, 

(9) James, v. 14. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 279 

to the ears of hearing, to the nostrils of smelling, to the mouth 
of taste and speech, to the hands of touch. The sense of touch, 
it is true, is diffused throughout the entire body, yet the hands 
are its peculiar seat. This manner of administering Extreme 
Unction is observed throughout the universal Church, and ac- 
cords with the medicinal nature of this Sacrament. As in cor- 
poral disease, although it affects the entire body, yet the cure 
is applied to that part only which is the seat of the disease, so 
in spiritual malady, this Sacrament is applied not to the entire 
body, but to those members which are properly the organs of 
sense, and also to the loins, which are, as it were, the seat of 
concupiscence, and to the feet, by which we move from one 
place to another. 

Here it is to be observed, that, during the same illness, and Ifc ma y be 

' ' a ' repeated, 

whilst the danger of dying continues the same, the sick person and when, 
is to be anointed but once ; should he, however, recover after 
he has been anointed, he may receive the aid of this Sacrament 
as often as he shall have relapsed into the same danger. This 
Sacrament, therefore, is evidently to be numbered amongst 
those which may be repeated. 

But as every obstacle which may impede its efficacy should Prepara- 
be removed with the greatest care, and as nothing is more op- ceiving it 
posed to it than a state of mortal guilt, the pastor will follow worthll y- 
the uniform practice of the Catholic Church, and not adminis- 
ter Extreme Unction, until the penitent has confessed and 
received. He will then earnestly exhort the sick person 
to receive this Sacrament with the same sentiments of 
faith which animated the primitive Christians, who pre- 
sented themselves to the Apostles to be healed by them. 
The health of the soul is to be the first object of the sick man's 
prayers, the second, that of the body, should it tend to his 
eternal interests. The faithful should be convinced, that the 
solemn and holy prayers, which are offered by the priest, not 
in his own name, but in that of the Church and of its divine 
Founder, are heard by Almighty God ; and they cannot be too 
earnestly exhorted, to be careful to accompany the administra- 
tion of the Sacrament, with all the sanctity and religious fer- 
vour that become that awful hour, when the dying Christian is 



280 THE CATECHISM OF 

about to engage in the last conflict, and the energies of the 
mind as well as of the body seem to be enfeebled. 
Sethis With re £ ard t0 tne minister of Extreme Unction, this too 
Sacrament we learn from S. James, when he says: " Let him bring in the 
"priests:" (10) by the word "priests," as the Council of 
Trent has defined, (11) he does not mean elders or persons ad- 
vanced in years, or of elevated rank, but priests duly ordained 
by bishops with the imposition of hands. The administration 
of this Sacrament, therefore, is committed to priests, not how- 
ever to every priest, in accordance with the decree of the 
Church ; but to the proper priest who has jurisdiction, or to 
Note. another authorised by him. In this, as in the other Sacraments, 
it is also to be distinctly recollected, that the priest is the re- 
presentative of Jesus Christ and of his Church. 
Its advan- The advantages, which flow from this Sacrament, are also 
tages. to be explained more minutely, that if the sick are influenced 
by no other consideration, they may, at least, yield to this, for 
I. we are disposed to measure every thing by its utility. The pas- 
tor, therefore, will teach, that the grace of this Sacrament re- 
mits sins, especially lighter offences, or, as they are commonly 
called, venial sins. Its primary object is not to remit mor- 
tal sins. For this the Sacrament of penance was instituted, as 
II- was that of baptism for the remission of original sin. Another 
advantage arising from Extreme Unction is, that it removes 
the languor and infirmity entailed by sin, with all its other in- 
conveniences. The time most seasonable for the application 
of this cure is, when we are visited by some severe malady, 
which threatens to prove fatal ; for nature dreads no earthly 
visitation so much as death, and this dread is considerably aug- 
mented by the recollection of our past sins, particularly if the 
mind is harrowed up by the poignant reproaches of conscience ; 
as it is written : " They shall come with fear at the thought of 
" their sins, and their iniquities shall stand against them to 
"convict them." (12) A source of alarm still more distress- 
ing is the awful reflection, that, in a few moments, we shall 
stand before the judgment-seat of God, whose justice will 
III. award that sentence, which our lives may have deserved. The 

(10; James, v. 14. (11) Sess. 14, c. 3. (12) Wisdom, iv. 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 281 

terror inspired by these considerations frequently agitates the 
soul with the most awful apprehensions ; and to calm this ter- 
ror nothing can be so efficacious as the Sacrament of Extreme 
Unction. It quiets our fear, illumines the gloom in which 
the soul is enveloped, fills it with pious and holy joy, and ena- 
bles us to wait with cheerfulness the coming of the Lord, pre- 
pared to yield up all that we have received from his bounty, 
whenever he is pleased to summon us from this world of wo. 
Another, and the most important advantage derived from Ex- IV. 
treme Unction, is, that it fortifies us against the violent assaults 
of Satan. The enemy of mankind never ceases to seek our 
ruin ; but to complete our destruction, and, if possible, deprive 
us of all hope of mercy, he more than ever increases his ef- 
forts, when he sees us approach our last end. This Sacra- 
ment, therefore, arms and strengthens the faithful against the 
violence of his assaults, and enables them to fight resolutely 
and successfully against him. Tranquillized and encouraged 
by the hope of the divine mercy, the soul bears up with forti- 
tude against every difficulty, experiences an alleviation of the 
burden of sickness, and eludes with greater ease, the artifice and 
cunning of the enemy, who lies in wait for her. Finally, the re- V. 
covery of health, if advantageous to the sick person, is another 
effect of this Sacrament. However, should this effect not follow, 
it arises not from any defect in the Sacrament, but from weakness 
of faith on the part of him by whom it is received, or of him by 
whom it is administered ; for the Evangelist informs us, that our 
Lord wrought not many miracles amongst his countrymen, be- 
cause of their incredulity. (13) It may, however, be proper to ob- Note, 
serve, that Christianity, now that it has taken deep root in the 
minds of men, stands less in need of the aid of such miracles in our 
days, than in the early ages of the Church. Nevertheless, our 
faith is here to be strongly excited, and whatever it may please 
God in his wisdom to do with regard to the health of the body, 
the faithful should be animated with an assured hope of receiv- 
ing from it spiritual health and strength, and of experiencing, 
at the hour of their dissolution, the truth of these consoling 
words: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." (14) 

(13) Matth. xiii. 58, (14) Apoc. xiv. 13. 

36 



282 THE CATECHISM OF 

We have thus briefly explained the sacrament of Extreme 
Unction. If the heads of the matter be developed by the pas- 
tor more at large, with the diligence which their importance 
demands, the faithful, no doubt, will derive from their exposi- 
tion abundant fruit of piety. 



ON THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS. 



The Sa- From an attentive consideration of the nature of the other 
Orders' ° Sacraments we shall find little difficulty in perceiving, that, so 
why to be dependant are they all on that of orders, that without its in- 

explained x J ' . . 

to the peo- tervention some could not exist, or be administered, whilst 
p e ' others would be stripped of the religious rites and solemn cer- 

emonies, and of that exterior respect which should accompa- 
ny their administration. The pastor, therefore, following up 
his exposition of the sacraments, will deem it a duty to bestow, 
also, on the Sacrament of Orders, an attention proportioned to 
I- its importance. This exposition cannot fail to prove salutary, 
in the first place, to the pastor himself, in the next place, to 
those who may have embraced the ecclesiastical state, and fi- 
nally to the faithful at large — to the pastor himself, because, 
whilst explaining this Sacrament to others, he himself is excit- 
ed to stir up within him the grace which he received at his or- 
II. dination — to others whom the Lord has called to his sanctua- 
ry, by inspiring them with the same love of piety, and impart- 
ing to them a knowledge of those things which will qualify 
HI. them the more easily to advance to higher orders — to the faith- 
ful at large, by making known to them the respect due to the 
IV ministers of religion. It, also, not unfrequently occurs, that, 
amongst the faithful there are many who intend their children 
for the ministry whilst yet young, and some who are themselves 
candidates for that holy state ; and it is proper that such per- 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

sons should not be entirely unacquainted with its natu. 
ligations. (1) 

The faithful then are to be made acquainted with the exalte :& 
dignity and excellence of this Sacrament in its highest degree, ment> 
which is the priesthood. Priests and bishops are, as it were, J - 
the interpreters and heralds of God, commissioned in his name 
to teach mankind the law of God, and the precepts of a Chris- 
tian life— they are the representatives of God upon earth. Im- 
possible, therefore, to conceive a more exalted dignity, or func- 
tions more sacred. Justly, therefore, are they called not only 
" angels," (2) but gods, ( 3) holding, as they do, the place and 
power and authority of God on earth. But the priesthood, at 
all times an elevated office, transcends in the New Law all 
others in dignity. The power of consecrating and offering 
the body and blood of our Lord and of remitting sins, with 
which the priesthood of the New Law is invested, is such as 
cannot be comprehended by the human mind, still less is it 
equalled by, or assimilated to, any thing on earth. Again, as 
Christ was sent by the Father, (4) the Apostles and Disciples 
by Christ, (5) even so are priests invested with the same pow- 
er, and sent " for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of 
" the ministry, and the edification of the body of Christ." (6) 

This office, therefore, is not to be rashly imposed on any Those who 
one : to those only is it to be entrusted, who, by the sanctity of cdve°Or- 
their lives, by their knowledge, their faith, and their prudence, {J ers Jg* 
are capable of sustaining its weight: "Nor let any one take their views 
« this honor to himself," says the Apostle, " but he that is call- ^for?' " 
" ed by God as Aaron was." (7) This call from God we re- 
cognise, in that of the lawful ministers of his Church. Of 
those, who would arrogantly obtrude themselves into the sanc- 
tuary, the Lord has said : " I sent not the prophets, and yet 

(1) Qui spectat ad mores eorum qui in aliquoordine ecclesiastico sunt, viden- 
dum est, immo sciendum Cone. Trid. in posteriore parte cujusque sessionis, quae 
est de reformatione ; quod vero attinet ad ordinem ut est sacramentum, vide 
idem Cone. sess. 13. et de singulis ordinationibus vide Cone. Carthag. IV. sub 
Anastasio Pontifice. anno 398. 

(2) Mai. ii. 7. (3) Ps. lxxxi. 6. (4) John, viii. 36. (5) Mat. xxviii. 19. 

(6) Eph. iv. 12. De sacerdotii dignitate vide Ignat. epist. ad Smyrn. Amb. 
lib. 5. epist. 32. et lib. 10. ep. S2. Chrysost. horn. 60. ad pop. Antioch, et in 
Matt. horn. S3. Nazian. orat. 17. adsuos cives. 

(7) Heb. v. 4. 



THE CATECHISM OF 

:" (8) such sacrilegious intruders bring the greatest 
_, on themselves, and the heaviest calamities on the 
-wurch of God. (9) But as, in every undertaking, the end 
proposed is of the highest importance, (when the end is good, 
every thing proceeds well) the candidate for the ministry 
should, first of all, be admonished to propose to himself no mo- 
tive unworthy of so exalted a station; an admonition which 
demands particular attention in these our days, when the faith- 
ful are but too unmindful of its spirit : there are those who as- 
pire to the priesthood with a view to secure to themselves a 
livelihood, who, like wordlings in matters of trade or com- 
merce, look to nothing but sordid pelf. True, the natural and 
divine law command, that, to use the words of the Apostle, 
" he that serves the altar, should live by the altar;" (10) but 
to approach the altar for gain, this indeed were a sacrilege of 
the blackest die. Others there are whom a love of honors, 
and a spirit of ambition conduct to the altar, others whom the 
gold of the sanctuary attracts ; and of this we require no other 
proof than that they have no idea of embracing the ecclesiasti- 
cal state unless preferred to some rich ecclesiastical benefice. 
These are they whom the Lord denounces as " hirelings," (11) 
who, to use the words of Ezekiel, " feed themselves and not 
"the sheep." (12) Their turpitude and profligacy have not 
only tarnished the lustre and degraded the dignity of the sa- 
cerdotal character, in the eyes of the faithful ; but the priest- 
hood brings to them, in its train, the same rewards which the 
Apostleship brought to Judas — eternal perdition. 

But they who, in obedience to the legitimate call of God, 
undertake the priestly office, solely with a view to promote 
his glory, are truly said " to enter by the door." The obli- 
gation of promoting his glory is not confined to them alone ; 
for this were all men created, — this the faithful in particular, 
consecrated, as they have been, by baptism to God, should 
promote with their whole hearts, their whole souls, and with 
all their strength. Not enough, therefore, that the candidate 
for holy orders propose to himself to seek in all things the glo- 

(8) Jerem. xxiii. 21. (9) Vid. dist. 23. multisin capitibus. 

(10) 1 Cor. ix. 13. (11) John, x. 12. (\2) Ezek. xxxiv. 1. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 285 

ry of God, a duty common alike to all men, and particularly in- 
cumbent on the faithful : he must also be resolved to serve 
God in holiness and righteousness, in the particular sphere in 
which his ministry is to be exercised. As in an army, all obey 
the command of the General, whilst amongst them some hold 
the place of colonel, some of captain, and others, stations of 
subordinate rank ; so in the Church, whilst all without distinc- 
tion should be earnest in the pursuit of piety and innocence, 
the principal means of rendering homage to God ; to those, 
however, who are initiated in the Sacrament of Orders, special 
offices belong, on them special functions devolve — to offer sac- 
rifice for themselves, and for all the people — to instruct others 
in the law of God — to exhort and form them to a faithful and 
ready compliance with its injunctions — and to administer the 
Sacraments, the sources of grace. In a word, set apart from 
the rest of the people, they are engaged in a ministry the most 
sacred and the most exalted. 

Having explained these matters to the faithful, the pastor The pow- 
will next proceed to expound those things which are peculiar rlity the 
to this Sacrament, that thus the candidate for orders may be Sacrament 

7 •'of Orders, 

enabled to form a just estimate of the nature of the office to two-fold, 
which he aspires, and to know the extent of the power con- ti J n "iid*" 
ferred by Almighty God on his Church and her ministers. This of orders. 
power is two-fold, of jurisdiction, and of orders : the power of 
orders has reference to the body of our Lord Jesus Christ in 
the Holy Eucharist, that of jurisdiction to his mystical body, 
the Church; for to this latter belong the. government of his spi- 
ritual kingdom on earth, and the direction of the faithful in the 
way of salvation. In the power of Orders is included not only 
that of consecrating the Holy Eucharist, but also of preparing 
the soul for its worthy reception, and whatever else has refer- 
ence to the sacred mysteries. Of this the Scriptures afford 
numerous attestations, amongst which the most striking and 
weighty are contained in the words recorded by S. John and 
S. Matthew on this subject : " As the Father hath sent me," 
says the Redeemer, "I send you: Receive ye the Holy Ghost, 
" whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and 



286 THE CATECHISM OF 

"whose sins you shall retain, they are retained;" (13) and 
again, " Amen, I say unto you, whatever you shall bind on 
" earth, shall be bound also in heaven ; and whatever you shall 
" loose on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven." (14) These 
passages, if expounded by the pastor from the doctrine, and on 
the authority of the Fathers, will shed considerable light on 
this important subject. 
Greatness This power far transcends that which was given to those, 
of this who, under the law of nature, exercised a special superinten- 
dance over sacred things. (15) The age anterior to the writ- 
ten law must have had its priesthood, a priesthood invested 
with spiritual power : that it had a law cannot be questioned ; 
and so intimately interwoven are these two things with one ano- 
ther, that, take away one, you of necessity remove the other. 
(16) As then, prompted by the dictate of the instinctive feel- 
ings of his nature, man recognises the worship of God as a du- 
ty, it follows as a necessary consequence, that, under every 
form of government, some persons must have been constituted 
the official guardians of sacred things, the legitimate ministers 
of the divine worship ; and of such persons the power might, 
in a certain sense, be called spiritual. 

With this power the priesthood of the Old Law was also in- 
vested ; but, although superior in dignity to that exercised un- 
der the law of nature, it was far inferior to the spiritual power 
enjoyed under the Gospel-dispensation. The power, with 
which the Christian Priesthood is clothed, is a heavenly pow- 
er, raised above that of angels : it has its source not in the Le- 
vitical priesthood, but in Christ the Lord, who was a priest 
not according to Aaron, but according to the order of Mel- 
chisedech. (17) He it is who, endowed with supreme author- 
ity to grant pardon and grace, has bequeathed this power to 
his Church, a power limited, however, in its extent, and at- 
tached to the sacraments. 
Name of To exercise this power, therefore, ministers are appointed 
men?" 3- " and solemm y consecrated, and this solemn consecration is de- 

(13) John, xx. 21, 22, 23. (14) Matth. xviii. 18. 

(15) Vid. de consecr, dist. 2. cap. nihil in sacrificiis, Cone. Trid. sess. 22. cap. 
1. Iren. lib. 4. c. 34. Aug. 1. 19. de civit. Dei, cap. 23. 

(16) Heb. vii. 12. (17) Heb. vii. 11. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 287 

nominated " ordination" or, " the Sacrament of Orders." To 
designate this Sacrament, the word " Orders" has been made 
use of by the Holy Fathers, because its signification is very 
comprehensive, and, therefore, well adapted to convey an 
idea of the dignity and excellence of the ministers of God. 
Understood in its strict and proper acceptation, order is the 
disposition of superior and subordinate parts, which, when 
united, present a combination so harmonious as to stand in mu- 
tual and accordant relations. Comprising then, as the minis- 
try does, many gradations and various functions, and disposed, 
as all these gradations and functions are, with the greatest re- 
gularity, this Sacrament is very appropriately called the " Sa- 
crament of Orders." 

That Holy Orders are to be numbered amongst the Sacra- ° rders > a 
ments of the Church, the Council of Trent establishes on the 
same principle to which we have so often referred in proving 
the other Sacraments. A Sacrament is a sensible sign of an 
invisible grace, and with these characters Holy Orders are in- 
vested : their external forms are a sensible sign of the grace 
and power which they confer on the receiver ; Holy Orders, 
therefore, are really and truly a Sacrament. (18) Hence the 
bishop, handing to the candidate for priest's orders, a chalice 
which contains wine and water, and a patena with bread, says: 
" Receive the power of offering Sacrifice," &c, words, which, 
according to the uniform interpretation of the Church, impart 
power, when the proper matter is supplied, of consecrating 
the Holy Eucharist, and impress a character on the soul. To 
this power is annexed grace duly and lawfully to discharge 
the priestly office, according to these words of the Apostle: 
" I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is 
" in thee, by the imposition of my hands ; for God hath not 
" given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of 
"sobriety." (19) 

With regard to the number of orders, to use the words of Number 
the Council of Trent, " As the ministry of so exalted a priest- ° 

(18) Sess. 23. de ordine. ordinem esse sacramentum vid. Trid. sess. 23. de 
ordine c. 1. & 3. & can. 3. 4. 5. Cone. Florent. in decret. de sacr. Aug. lib. 2. 
contr. epist. Parmen. cap. 13. de bonoconjug. cap. 24. & lib. 1. debapt. contra 
Donat. c. I. Leo. epist; 18. Greff. in c. 10. libr. 1. Re£. 

09) Tim. i. 6. 



288 THE CATECHISM OF 

" hood is a divine thing, it was meet in order to surround it 
' " with the greater dignity and veneration, that in the admira- 
" ble economy of the Church there should be several distinct 
"orders of ministers, intended by their office to serve the 
" priesthood, and so disposed, as that, beginning with the cle- 
" rical tonsure, they may ascend gradually through the lesser 
" to the greater orders." Their number, according to the 
uniform and universal doctrine of the Catholic Church, is sev- 
en, Porter, Reader, Exorcist, Acolyte, Sub-deacon, Deacon 
and Priest. (20) That these compose the number of ministers 
in the Church may be proved from the functions necessary to 
the solemn celebration of Mass, and to the consecration and 
administration of the Holy Eucharist, for which they were 
principally instituted. Of these some are greater, which are 
also called " Holy," some lesser, which are called " Minor 
" Orders." The greater or Holy Orders are Sub-deaconship, 
Deaconship and Priesthood ; the lesser or Minor Orders are 
Porter, Reader, Exorcist, and Acolyte. To facilitate the du- 
ty of the pastor, particularly when conveying instruction to 
those who are about to be initiated in any of the orders, it is 
necessary to say a few words on each. 
Tonsure, We shall begin with the tonsure, which is a sort of prepa- 
origin, and ration for receiving orders : As persons are prepared for bap- 
lmport. t j sm by exorcisms, and for marriage by espousals, so those, who 
are consecrated to God by tonsure, are prepared for admis- 
sion to the Sacrament of Orders. Tonsure declares what man- 
• ner of person he should be, who desires to receive Orders : the 
name of " Clerk," (clericus) which he receives then for the 
first time, implies (21) that thenceforward he has taken the 
Lord for his inheritance, like those who, in the Old Law, were 
consecrated to the service of God, and to whom the Lord for- 
bad that any portion of the ground should be distributed in the 
land of promise, saying : " I am thy portion and thy inheri- 
"tance."(22) This, although true of all Christians, applies in 
a special manner to those who have been consecrated to the 

(20) Horum ordijlum meminerunt Dionys. lib. Eccl. Hier. cap. 9. Cornel. 
Papa inepist. ad Fab. episcop. Antioch. extat apud Euseb. Hist. Eecles. lib. 6. 
cap. 35. Cone Carth. 4. can. 4. & seq. Ignat. epist. ad Antioch. 

(21) kX%0S, sors. a lot. T. (22) Num. xviii. 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 289 

ministry." (23) In Tonsure the hair of the head is cut in form 
of a crown, and should be worn in that form, enlarging the 
crown according as the ecclesiastic advances in Orders. This 
form of the Tonsure the Church teaches to be of Apostolic 
origin : it is mentioned by the most ancient and venerable Fa- 
thers, by S. Denis the Areopagite, (24) by S. Augustine (25) 
and by S. Jerome. (26) According to these venerable person- 
ages the Tonsure was first introduced by the prince of the 
Apostles, in honor of the crown of thorns which was pressed 
upon the head of the Redeemer ; that the instrument devised 
by the impiety of the Jews for the ignominy and torture of 
Christ may be worn by his Apostles as their ornament and glo- 
ry. It was also intended to signify that the ministers of reli- 
gion are, in all things, so to comport themselves, as to carry 
about them the figure and likeness of Christ. Some howev- 
er assert that tonsure is an emblem of the royal dignity, which 
belongs peculiarly to those who are specially called to the in- 
heritance of God : for to the ministers of the Church belongs, 
in a pecular manner, what the Apostle Peter says of all Chris- 
tians : " You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a ho- 
" ly nation." (27) Others are of opinion that tonsure, which is 
cut in form of a circle, the most perfect of all figures, is em- 
blematic of the superior perfection of the ecclesiastical state ; 
or that, as it consists in cutting off hair, which is a sort of su- 
perfluity, it implies a contempt of worldly things, and a detach- 
ment from all earthly cares aiad concerns. 

The order of Porter follows Tonsure : its duty consists in Porter, 
taking care of the keys and door of the Church, and in suffering 
none to enter to whom entrance is prohibited. The Porter 
also assisted at the Holy Sacrifice, and took care that no one 
should approach too near the altar or interrupt the celebrant. 
To the order of Porter also belonged other functions, as is clear 
from the forms used at his consecration : taking the keys from 
the altar and handing them to him, the bishop says : " Conduct 

(23) Vid. Hieron. epist. 2. ad Nepot. et citatur 12. q. 1. c. clericus. 

(24) Dionys. de Eccles. Hier. c. 6. part. 2. 

(25) Aug. serm. 17. ad Fratresin Eremo. 

(26) Hier. in cap. 44. Ezek. vid. Raban. Maur. lib. de institut. cleric. Bed. 
lib. hist. 5. Angl. c. 22. 

(27) 1 Pet. ii. 9. 

37 



290 



THE CATECHISM OF 



" YOURSELF AS HAVING TO RENDER AN ACCOUNT TO GOD FOR 
" THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE KEPT UNDER THESE KEYS." That 

in the ancient Church this office was one of considerable dig- 
nity may be inferred from still existing ecclesiastical observ- 
ances ; for to the Porter belonged the office of treasurer of the 
Church, to which was also attached that of guardian of the 
sacristy ; stations the duties of which are still numbered amongst 
the most honorable functions of the ecclesiastic. (28) 
Reader. The second amongst the Minor Orders is that of Reader : to 
him it belongs to read to the people, in a clear and distinct 
voice, the sacred Scriptures, particularly the Noctural Psalm- 
ody ; and on him also devolves the task of instructing the faith- 
ful in the rudiments of the faith. Hence the bishop, in pre- 
sence of the people, handing him a book which contains what 
belongs to the exercise of this function, says : " Receive (this 

" BOOK,) AND BE YOU A REHEARSER OF THE WORD OF GOD, 
" DESTINED, IF YOU APPROVE YOURSELF FAITHFUL AND USEFUL 
" IN THE DISCHARGE OF YOUR OFFICE, TO HAVE A PART WITH 
" THOSE WHO, FROM THE BEGINNING, HAVE ACO.UITTED THEM- 
" SELVES WELL IN THE MINISTRY OF THE DIVINE WORD." (29) 

Exorcist. The third order is that of Exorcist : to him is given power 
to invoke the name of the Lord over persons possessed by un- 
clean spirits. Hence the bishop, when initiating the Exorcist, 
hands him a book containing the exorcisms, and says " Take 

" THIS AND COMMIT IT TO MEMORY, AND HAVE POWER TO 
" IMPOSE HANDS ON PERSONS POSSESSED, BE THEY BAPTISED 

" OR CATECHUMENS." (30) 

Acolyte. The fourth and last amongst the Minor Orders is that of 
Acolyte: the duty of the Acolyte is to attend and serve those 
in holy orders, Deacons and Sub-deacons, in the ministry of 
the altar. The Acolyte also attends to the lights used at the 
celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, particularly whilst the Gos- 

(28) DeOstiario vid. Trid. sess. 23. de reform, c. 17. Cone. Tolet. c. 6. & ci- 
tatur. dist. 25. Ostiar. Isid. 1. de Eccl. c. 14. & dist. 25. c. perlectis, &apud Ba- 
ron. Annal. Eccl. an. 34. num. 287. & an. 44. num. 78. & num. 80. 

(29) Vid. Cypr. epist. 33. & Tertull. de prescript, c. 61. & apud Baron. An- 
nal. Eccl. anno. 34. num. 287. & an. 54. 78. 79. an. 153. num. 93. an. 456. 
num. 20. 

(30) De Exorcist, vid. supra cit. auctores& apud Baron. Annal. Eccl. an. 34. 
num. 287. an 44. num. 78. & num. 80. an. 237. num. 89. an. 56. num. 5. & 
num. 8.9. 10. 11. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 291 

pel is read. At his ordination, therefore, the bishop, having 
carefully admonished him of the nature of the office which he is 
about to assume, places in his hand a light, with these words : 
" Receive this wax-light, and know that hencefor- 
" ward you are devoted to light the church, in the 
" name of the Lord." He then hands him empty cruets, in- 
tended to supply wine and water for the sacrifice, saying : " Re- 

" CEIVE THESE CRUETS, WHICH ARE TO SUPPLY WINE AND WA- 
" TER FOR THE EUCHARIST OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST IN THE 
■" NAME OF THE LORD." (31) 

Minor Orders, which do not come under the denomination Subdeacon 
of Holy, and which have hitherto formed the subject-matter of 
our exposition, are, as it were, the vestibule through which 
we ascend to holy orders. Amongst the latter the first is that 
of Sub-deacon : his office, as the name implies, is to serve the 
Deacon in the ministry of the altar : to him it belongs to pre- 
pare the altar-linen, the sacred vessels, the bread and wine 
necessary for the Holy Sacrifice, to minister water to the 
Priest or Bishop at the washing of the hands at Mass, to re'ad 
the Epistle, a function which was formerly discharged by the 
Deacon," to assist at Mass in the capacity of a witness, and see 
that the Priest be not disturbed by any one during its celebra- 
tion. These functions, which appertain to the ministry of the 
Sub-deacon may be learned from the solemn ceremonies used 
at his consecration. In the first place, the bishop admonishes 
him that by his ordination he assumes the solemn obligation of 
perpetual continence, and proclaims aloud that he alone is eli- 
gible to this office, who is prepared freely to embrace this 
law. In the next place, when the solemn -prayer of the Lita- 
nies has been recited, the Bishop enumerates and explains the 
duties and functions of the Sub-deacon. This done, each of 
the candidates for ordination receives from the Bishop a cha- 
lice and consecrated patena, and from the Archdeacon, cruets 
filled with wine and water, and a basin and towel for washing 
and drying the hands, to remind him that he is to serve the 
Deacon. These ceremonies the bishop accompanies with this 

(31) De Acolytis vid. etiam Cypr. epist. 55. & apnd Baron. Annal. Eccl. an. 
44. num. 39. & num. 80. 



292 THE CATECHISM OF 

solemn admonition : " See what sort of ministry is con- 

" FIDED TO YOU : I ADMONISH YOU THEREFORE SO TO COM- 
" PORT YOURSELVES AS TO BE PLEASING IN THE SIGHT OF 

" God." Additional prayers are then recited, and when, final- 
ly, the bishop has clothed the Sub-deacon with the sacred 
vestments, on putting on each of which he makes use of ap- 
propriate words and ceremonies, he then hands him the book 
of the Epistles, saying : " Receive the Book of the Epis- 
" tles, and have power to read them in the Church 
" of God, both for the living and the dead." (32) 
Deacon. The second amongst the Holy Orders is that of Deacon: 
his ministry is more comprehensive, and has been always deem- 
ed more holy: to him it belongs constantly to accompany the 
bishop, to attend him when preaching, to assist him and the 
priest also during the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, and at 
the administration of the Sacraments, and to read the Gospel at 
the Sacrifice of the Mass-. In the primitive ages of the Church, 
he not unfrequently exhorted the faithful to attend to the divine 
worship, and administered the chalice in those Churches, in 
which the faithful received the Holy Eucharist under both 
kinds. In order to administer to the wants of the necessitous, 
to him was also committed the distribution of the Goods of the 
Church. To the Deacon also, as the eye of the bishop, it be- 
longs to enquire and ascertain who within his diocess lead lives 
of piety and edification, and who do not; who attend the Holy 
Sacrifice of the Mass and the instruction of their pastors, and 
who do not ; that thus the bishop, made acquainted by him 
with these matters, may be. enabled to admonish each offender 
privately, or, should he deem it more conducive to their re- 
formation, to rebuke and correct them publicly. He also calls 
over the names of catechumens, and presents to the bishop those 
who are to be promoted to orders. In the absence of the bish- 
op and priest, he is also authorised to expound the Gospel to 
the people, not however from an elevated place, to make it un- 

(32) De Subdiaconis praeter auctores supra citatos vide Cypr. epist. 24. & 
epist. 42. dist. 17. c. presbyteris, Can. Apost. can. 25. Cone. Carthag'. 4. can. 
5. Arelat. 2. can. 2. Aurel. 3. cap. 2. Eliber. can. 33. Leo I. Epist. 82. item 
apud Baron. Annal. Eccl. an. 44. num. 79. & 80. an. 253. num. 72. num. 97. 
an. 239. num. 21. an. 324. num. 128. an. 588. num. 48. an. 589. num. 6. an. 
1057. num. 32. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 293 

derstood that this is not one of his ordinary functions. That 
the greatest care should be taken, that no unworthy person be 
advanced to the office of Deacon, is evinced by the emphasis 
with which the Apostle, writing to Timothy, dwells on the mo- 
rals, the virtue, the integrity which should mark the lives of 
those who are invested with this sacred character. (33) The 
rites and ceremonies used at his ordination also sufficiently 
convey the same lesson of instruction. The prayers used at 
the ordination of, a Deacon are more numerous and solemn 
than at that of a Sub-deacon : his person is also invested with 
the sacred stole ; of his ordination as of that of the first Dea- 
cons who were ordained by the Apostles,, (34) the imposition 
of hands also forms a part; and, finally, the book of the Gos- 
pels is handed to him by the bishop with these words: " Re- 

" CEIVE POWER TO READ THE GOSPEL IN THeChURCH OF GOD, 

" as well for the living as for the dead, in the name 
of the Lord." (35) 

The third and highest degree of all Holy Orders is the Priest - 
Priesthood. Persons raised to the Priesthood the Holy Fa- 
thers distinguish by two names : they are called " Presbyters," 
which in Greek signifies elders, and which was given them, 
not only to express the mature years required by the Priest- 
hood, but still more, the gravity of their manners, their know- 
ledge and prudence : " Venerable old age is not that of long 
" time, nor counted by the number of years ; but the under- 
standing of a man is grey hairs:" (36) they are also called 
" Priests," (Sacerdotes) because they are consecrated to God, 
and to them it belongs to administer the sacraments and to han- 
dle sacred things. 

But as the Priesthood is described in the Sacred Scriptures ThePriest- 

1 hood, two- 

as two-fold, internal and external, a line of distinction must be fold; 

(33) 1 Tim. iii. 8. (34) Acts, vi. 6. 

(35) De Diaconis prater citatos supra, vid Clem. Rom. Constit. Apostol. 1. 2. 
c. 6. Cypr. de lapsis. Amb. 1. 1. offic. c. 41. Leo 1. serm. de S. Laurent. Clem. 
Rom. epist. 1. ad Jacob. Fratrem Domini, Hier. epist. 48. & apud. Baron. An- 
nal. Eccl. an. 33. num. 41. an. 34. num. 283. an. 285 & 2S7. an. 34. num. 
316. an. 44. num. 78 & 80. an. 57. num. 31 & num. 195. an. 5S. num. 102. an. 
112. num. 7. 8. 9. an. 316. num. 48. an. 324. num. 325. an. 325. num. 152. 
an. 401. num. 44 h 47. an. 508. num. 15. an. 741. num. 12. 

(36) Wisd. iv. S. 



294 THE CATECHISM OF 

drawn between them, that the pastor may have it in his power 
to explain to the faithful the Priesthood which is here meant. 
Internal, The internal Priesthood extends to all the faithful, who have 
been baptised, particularly to the just, who are anointed by the 
spirit of God, and by the divine grace are made living members 
of the High-Priest Christ Jesus. Through faith, inflamed by 
charity, they offer spiritual sacrifices to God on the altar of 
their hearts, and in the number of these sacrifices are to be 
reckoned good and virtuous actions, referred to the glory of 
God. Hence we read in the Apocalypse : "'Christ hath wash- 
" ed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us a 
" kingdom and priests to God and his Father." (37) The doc- 
trine of St. Peter to the same effect we find recorded in these 
words : " Be you also as living stones, built up, a spiritual 
" house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices ac- 
" ceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (38) The Apostle also 
exhorts us, " to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, 
" pleasing unto God, our reasonable service ;" (39) and David 
had said long before : " A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spir- 
" it; a contrite and humble heart, O God ! thou wilt not des- 
" pise." (40) That all these authorities regard the internal 
Priesthood, it requires little discernment to discover, 
and exter- The external Priesthood does not extend indiscriminately to 
nal - the great body of the faithful ; it is appropriated to a certain 

class of persons, who, being invested with this august charac- 
ter, and consecrated to God by the lawful imposition of hands 
and the solemn ceremonies of the Church, are devoted to some 
particular office in the sacred ministry. 
This dis- The distinction of Priesthood is observable even in the Old 
tmction L aw - # We have already seen that David spoke of the inter- 
in the Old nal Priesthood; and with regard to the external, the numerous 
aw ' commands, delivered by God to Moses and Aaron in reference 
to it, are too well known to require special mention. Moreo- 
ver, the Almighty appointed the tribe of Levi to the ministry 
of the temple, and forbad by an- express law that any member 
of a different tribe should assume that function ; and Osias, 
stricken by God with leprosy for having usurped the sacerdo- 
tal) Apoc. i. 5. 6. (38) 1 Pet. ii. 5. (39) Rom. xii. 1. (40) Ps. 1. 19. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 295 

tal office, was visited with the heaviest chastisement for his 
arrogant and sacrilegious intrusion. (41) As, then, we find We here 
this same distinction of internal and external Priesthood in the !P eak P f 

the exter- 

New Law, the faithful are to be informed that we here speak nal priest- 
of the external only, for that alone belongs to the Sacrament of 
Holy Orders. 

The office of the Priest is then, as the rites used at his con- Its office 
secration declare, to offer sacrifice to God, and to administer f rom the 
the sacraments of the Church : the bishop, and after him, the ri t e - s ^ t • 
priests who may be present impose hands on the candidate for conferred, 
priesthood ; then placing a stole on his shoulders he adjusts it if. 
in form of a cross, to signify that the priest receives strength 
from above, to enable him to carry the cross of Jesus Christ, 
to bear the sweet yoke of his divine law, and to enforce this 
law, not by word only, but also by the eloquent example of a 
holy life. He next anoints his hands with sacred oil, reaches HI. 
him a chalice containing wine and a patena with bread, saying : 
" Receive power to offer sacrifice to God, and to ce- 
" lebrate mass as well for the living as for the dead." 
By these words and ceremonies he is constituted an interpre- 
ter and mediator between God and man, the principal function 
of the priesthood. Finally, placing his hands on the head of Iv - 
the person to be ordained, the bishop says : " Receive ye the 
" Holy Ghost ; whose sins you shall forgive, they are 
" forgiven them : AND whose sins you shall retain, they 
" are retained ; (42) thus investing him with that divine 
power of forgiving and retaining sins, which was conferred 
by our Lord on his disciples— These are the principal and 
peculiar functions of the Priesthood. 

The Order of Priesthood, although essentially one, has dif- The priest- 
ferent degrees of dignity and power. The first is confined to though one 
those who are simply called Priests, and whose functions we e ^ s de( J. r |gg 
have now explained. The second is that of Bishops, who are of d 'g nit y 

, , , . . n 1*1 and power 

placed over their respective bees, to govern not only the other I. 
ministers of the Church, but also the faithful, and, with sleep- 
less vigilance and unwearied care, to watch over and pro- 

(41) Amb. 1. 4. desacram. cap. 1. August. 1. 10. de civ. Dei, c. 6 & 10. Leo. 
serm. 3. de Annivers. Pontine. 2 Par. 26. 18. 19. 

(42) John, iii. 20, 22, 23. 



IT. 



296 



THE CATECHISM OF 



mote their salvation. Hence the Sacred Scriptures frequently 
call them " the pastors of the sheep ;" and their office, and the 
duties which it imposes, are developed by Paul in his sermon 
to the Thessalonians recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. (43) 
Peter also has left for the guidance of Bishops a divine rule ; 
and if their lives harmonize with its spirit, they will no doubt 
be esteemed, and will really be, good pastors. (44) But Bish- 
ops are also called " Pontiffs," a name borrowed from the an- 

III. cient Romans, and used to designate their Chief-priest. The 
third degree is that of Archbishop : he presides over several 
Bishops, and is also called" Metropolitan," because he is plac- 
ed over the Metropolis of the Province. Archbishops, there- 
fore, (although their ordination is the same,) enjoy more ample 

IV. power, and a more exalted station than bishops. Patriarchs hold 
the fourth place, and are, as the name implies, the first and su- 
preme Fathers in the Episcopal order. Formerly, besides the So- 
vereign Pontiff, there were but four Patriarchs in the Church : 
their dignity was not the same ; the Patriarch of Constantinople, 
although last in the order of time, w r as first in rank — an honor 
conceded to him as Bishop of Constantinople, the capital of the 
imperial world. Next to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, is 
that of Alexandria, a see founded by the Evangelist S. Mark 
by command of the prince of the Apostles. The third is the 
Patriarchate of Antioch, founded by S. Peter, and the first 
seat of the Apostolic See ; the fourth and last, the Patriarch- 
ate of Jerusalem, founded by S. James, the brother of our 
Lord. 

V. Superior to all these is the Sovereign Pontiff, whom Cyril, 
Archbishop of Alexandria, denominated in the Council of 
Ephesus, "the Father and Patriarch of the whole world." 
Sitting in that chair in which Peter the prince of the Apostles 
sat to the close of life, the Catholic Church recognises in his 
person the most exalted degree of dignity, and the full ampli- 
tude of jurisdiction ; a dignity and a jurisdiction not based on 
synodal, or other human constitutions, but emanating from no 
less an authority than God himself. As the successor of S. 
Peter, and the true and legitimate vicar of Jesus Christ, he, 

(43) Acts, xx. 28. (44) 1 Pet. v. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 297 

therefore, presides over the Universal Church, the Father and 
Governor of all the faithful, of Bishops, also, and of all other 
prelates, be their station, rank, or power what they may. (45) 

From what has been said, the pastor will take occasion to *" s [ n e Ctlon 
inform the faithful what are the principal offices and functions faith fal on 

,-vi Ti-1 ' « tms Sacra- 

of Ecclesiastical Orders, and their degrees, and also, who is ment. 
the minister of this Sacrament. 

That to the Bishop belongs exclusively the administration Theminis- 
of this Sacrament is matter of certainty, and is easily proved Sacrament 
by the authority of Scripture, by traditional evidence the ° Big |^ ers ' 
most unequivocal, by the unanimous attestation of all the Holy 
Fathers, by the decrees of Councils, and the practice of the 
Universal Church. Some Abbots, it is true, were occasional- 
ly permitted to confer Minor Orders : all, hower, admit that 
even this is the proper office of the Bishop, to whom, and to 
whom alone, it is lawful to confer the other Orders : Sub-dea- 
cons, Deacons, and Priests are ordained by one Bishop only, 
but, according to Apostolic tradition, a tradition which has al- 
ways been preserved in the Church, he himself is consecrated 
by three Bishops. 

We now come to explain the qualifications necessary in the Extreme 
candidate for Orders, particularly for Priesthood. From what caution in 
we have said on this subject, it will not be difficult to de- ^Orders! 
cide what should also be the qualifications of those who are to 
be initiated in other Orders, according to their respective offi- 
ces and comparative dignities. That too much precaution 
cannot be used in promoting to Orders is obvious from this 
consideration alone : the other Sacraments impart grace for 
the sanctification and salvation of those who receive them — 
Holy Orders for the good of the Church, and therefore for the 
salvation of all her children. Hence it is that Orders are con- 
ferred on certain appointed days only, days on which, according 
to the most ancient practice of the Church, a solemn fast is 
observed, to obtain from God, by holy and devout prayer, min- 
isters not unworthy of their high calling, qualified to exercise 

(45) De primatu Summi Pontificis vid. Anacl. epist. 3. c. 3. et citatur dist. 
22. c. Sacrosancta. Greg. 1. 7. epist. 64. et 65. Nicol. Pap. epist. ad Mediola- 
nens. et citat. dist. 22. c. omnes, vid. item eadem dist. c. Constantin. Cone. 
Chalced. in cp. ad Leonem. 

38 



298 THE CATECHISM OF 

the transcendant power with which they are to be invested, 
with propriety and to the edification of his Church. 
Qualifica- In the candidate for priesthood, therefore, integrity of life is 
thT^est- a ^ rst anc * essent ial qualification, not only because to procure, 
hood. or even to permit his ordination, whilst his conscience is bur- 
dened with the weight of mortal sin, is to aggravate his former 
guilt, by an additional crime of the deepest enormity; but al- 
so, because it is his to enlighten the darkness of others by the 
lustre of his virtue, and the bright example of innocence of life. 
The lessons addressed by the Apostle to Titus and to Timo- 
thy (46) should, therefore, supply the pastor with matter for 
instruction ; nor should he omit to observe, that whilst by the 
command of God bodily defects disqualified for the ministry of 
the altar in the Old Law, in the Christian dispensation such 
exclusion rests principally on the deformities of the mind. The 
candidate for Orders, therefore, in accordance with the holy 
practice of the Catholic Church, will first study diligently to 
purify his conscience from sin in the Sacrament of Penance. 
II. In the Priest we also look not merely for that portion of 

knowledge which is necessary to the proper administration of 
the Sacraments : more is expected — an intimate acquaintance 
with the science of the Sacred Volume should fit him to instruct 
the faithful in the mysteries of religion, and in the precepts of 
the Gospel, to reclaim from sin, and excite to piety and virtue. 
The due consecration and administration of the Sacraments, and 
the instruction of those who are committed to his care in the 
way of salvation, constitute two important duties of the pas- 
tor. " The lips of the priest," says Malachy, " shall keep 
" knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth ; be- 
l< cause he is the angel of the Lord of Hosts." (47) To a due 
consecration and administration of the Sacraments, a moderate 
share of knowledge suffices ; but to instruct the faithful in all 
the truths and duties of religion, demands considerable ability, 
Note. an ^ extensive knowledge. In all priests, however, recondite 
learning is not demanded : it is sufficient that each possess 
competent knowledge to discharge the duties of his own parti- 
cular office in the ministry. 

(46) Tit. i. and 1 Tim. iii. (47) Malach. ii. 7. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 299 

The Sacrament of Orders is not to be conferred on very On whom 
young, or on insane persons, because they do not enjoy the use not to be 
of reason : if administered, however, it, no doubt, impresses a conferred - 
character. The age required for the reception of the different 
Orders may be easily known by consulting the decrees of the 
Council of Trent. Persons obligated to render certain stipu- 
lated services to others, and therefore not at their own dispo- 
sal, are inadmissible to Orders : persons accustomed to shed 
blood, and homicides, are also excluded from the ecclesiastical 
state by an ecclesiastical law, and are irregular. The same 
law excludes those whose admission into the ministry may and 
must bring contempt on religion ; and hence illegitimate chil- 
dren, and all who are born out of lawful wedlock, are disqua- 
lified for the sacred ministry. Finally, persons who are maim- 
ed, or who labour under any remarkable personal deformity, 
are also excluded : such defects offend the eye, and frequently 
incapacitate for the discharge of the duties of the ministry. 

Having explained these matters, it remains that the pastor Effects of 
unfold the effects of this Sacrament. It is clear, as we have m e nl of™" 
already said, that the Sacrament of Orders, although primari- ° rde / s - 
ly instituted for the advantage and edification of the Church, 
imparts grace to him who receives it with proper dispositions, 
which qualifies and enables him to discharge with fidelity the 
duties which it imposes, and amongst which is to be numbered 
the administration of the Sacraments. As baptism qualifies for 
their reception, so Orders qualify for their administration. Or- ji 
ders also confer another grace, which is a special power in re- 
ference to the Holy Eucharist; a power full and perfect in the 
priest, who alone can consecrate the body and blood of our 
Lord, but in the subordinate ministers, greater or less in pro- 
portion to their approximation to the sacred mysteries of the 
altar. This power is also denominated a spiritual character, in. 
which, by a certain interior mark impressed on the soul, dis- 
tinguishes the ecclesiastic from the rest of the faithful, and de- 
votes them specially to the divine service. This the Apostle 
seems to have had in view, when he thus addressed Timothy : 
" Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee 
"by prophecy, with the imposition of the hands of the priest- 



300 THE CATECHISM OF 

"hood;" (48) and again: " I admonish thee, that thou stir up 
" the grace of God, which is in thee by the imposition of my 
" hands." (49) 

On the Sacrament of Orders let thus much suffice. — Our 
purpose has been to lay before the pastor the most important 
particulars upon the subject, in order to supply him with mat- 
ter upon which he may draw for the instruction of the faithful, 
and their advancement in Christian piety. 

(48; 1 Tim. iv. 14. (49) 2 Tim. i. 6. 



ON THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY. 



A life of As it is the duty of the pastor to propose to himself the ho- 
t° be'de- 06 * mess an( ^ perfection of the faithful, his earnest desires must be 
sired by all in full accordance with those of the Apostle, when, writing to 
the Corinthians, he says : " I would that all men were even as 
"myself;" (1) that is, that all embraced the virtue of conti- 
nence. If there be any one blessing superior to every other, 
it surely falls to the lot of him who, unfettered by the distract- 
ing cares of the world, the turbulence of passion tranquilized, 
the unruly desires of the flesh extinguished, reposes in the 
practice of piety and the contemplation of heavenly things. 
The sane- But as, according to the same Apostle, " every one hath his 
riage. mar "" proper gift from God, one after this manner, and anotfler after 
" that," (2) and marriage is gifted with many divine blessings, 
holding, as it does, a place amongst the Sacraments of the 
Church, and honored, as it was, by the presence of our Lord 
himself,(3) it becomes the obvious duty of the pastor to expound 
its doctrine ; particularly when we find that S. Paul, and the 
prince of the Apostles, have, in many places, minutely describ- 

(1)1 Cor. vii. 7. (2) 1 Cor. vii. 7. (3) John, ii. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 301 

ed to us not only the dignity but also the duties of the married 
state. Filled with the Spirit of God they well understood the 
numerous and important advantages, which must flow to Chris- 
tian society from a knowledge of the sanctity and an inviola- 
ble observance of the obligations of marriage; whilst they saw 
that from an ignorance of the former, and a disregard of the 
latter, marriage must prove the fertile source of the greatest 
evils, and the heaviest calamities to the Church of God. 

The nature and import of marriage are, therefore, to be Naturea " (i 
• • r import of 

first explained ; for as vice not unfrequently assumes the sem- marriage 

blance of virtue, care must be taken that the faithful be not ^JjJJ 
deceived by a false appearance of marriage, and thus stain 
their souls with the turpitude and defilement of wicked lusts. 
To give them competent and correct information on this im- 
portant subject, we shall begin with the meaning of the word 
"Matrimony." It is called "Matrimony" because the prin- Meaning 
cipal object which a female should propose to herself in mar- "matrimo- 
riage is to become a mother ; (matrem) or because to a mother ny '" 
it belongs to conceive, bring forth, and train up her offspring. 
It is also called " wedlock" (conjugium) from the conjugal uni- "Wed- 
on of man and wife; (a conjungendo) because a lawful wife is ' lock -" 
united to her husband, as it were, by a common yoke. It is 
called "marriage," (nuptiae) because, as S. Ambrose observes, " Mar " „ 
the bride veiled her face (se obnuberent) through modesty, a 
reverential observance which would also seem to imply that 
she was to be subject to her husband. (4) 

Matrimony, in the general opinion of divines, is defined Definition 
" The conjugal and legitimate union of man and woman, which ^Jj 1 ^. 
"is to last during life." In order that the different parts of Pj. anation 
this definition may be better understood, the pastor will teach 
that, although a perfect marriage has all these conditions, viz. 
internal consent, external assent expressed by words, the ob- 
ligation and tie which arise from the contract, and the mar- 
riage debt by which it is consummated ; yet the obligation and 
tie, expressed by the word " union," alone have the force and 
nature of marriage. The peculiar character of this union is 

(4) De his nomin. vid. Aug. 1. 19. contr. Faust, c. 26. Ambr. 1. 1. de Abra- 
ham c. 9. infine. item vid. 30. q. 5. c. icemina, & 33. q. 5. c. Muliet. Isidor. 1. 
de Eccl. officiis. c. 19. 



302 THE CATECHISM OF 

marked by the word " conjugal," distinguishing it from other 
contracts, by which persons unite to promote their common 
interests, engage to render some service for a stipulated time, 
or enter into an agreement for some other purpose, contracts 
all of which differ essentially from this "conjugal union." 
Next follows the word " legitimate ;" for persons excluded by 
law cannot contract marriage, and if they do their marriage is 
invalid. Persons, for instance, within the fourth degree of 
kindred, a boy before his fourteenth year, and a female before 
her twelfth, the ages established by the laws, (5) cannot con- 
tract marriage. The words " which is to last during life," 
express the indissolubility of the tie, which binds husband and 
wife. 
In what Hence, it is evident, that in that tie consists marriage. Some 

marriage . .... . . 

consists, eminent divines, it is true, say that it consists in the consent, 
as when they define it : " The consent of the man and woman ;" 
but we are to understand them to mean that the consent is the 
efficient cause of marriage, which is the doctrine of the Fa- 
thers of the Council of Florence ; because, without the con- 
sent and contract, the obligation and tie cannot possibly exist. 
But it is of absolute necessity that the consent be expressed in 
words which designate the present time. Marriage is not a 
simple donation but a mutual contract ; and therefore the con- 
sent of one of the parties is insufficient, that of both necessary 
to its validity ; and to declare this consent, words are obvious- 
ly the medium to be employed. If the internal consent alone, 
without any external indication, were sufficient, it would then 
seem to follow as a necessary consequence, that, were two 
persons, living in the most separate and distant countries, to 
consent to marry, they would contract a true and indissoluble 
marriage, even before they had mutually signified to each oth- 
er their consent by letter or messenger ; a consequence as re- 
pugnant to reason, as it is opposed to the decrees and estab- 
lished usage of the Church. 
The con- It has been wisely provided that the consent of the parties 
^"ties to* 3 *° tne marriage contract be expressed in words which have 

(5) Such laws, the reader will perceive, are of a local nature, and vary in 
different countries. — T. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 303 

reference to the present time. Words which signify a future beexpress- 

• i, n •,, . . . . ed in words 

time promise, but do not actually unite in marriage : it is evi- which 
dent that what is to be done has no present existence : what have i re !t r " 

r ence to the 

does not exist can have little or no firmness or stability : a pro- present 
mise of marriage, therefore, does not give a title to the rights im ' 
of marriage. Such promises are, it is true, obligatory ; and 
their violation involves the offending party in a breach of faith; 
but although entered into they have not been actually fulfilled, 
and cannot therefore constitute marriage. But he who has 
once entered into the matrimonial alliance, regret it as he after- 
wards may, cannot possibly change, or invalidate, or undo the 
compact. As then the marriage contract is not a mere promise, 
but a transfer of right, by which the man yields the dominion 
of his person to the woman, the woman the dominion of her 
person to the man, it must therefore be made in words which 
designate the present time, the force of which words abides 
with undiminished efficacy from the moment of their utterance, 
and binds the husband and wife by a tie which can never be 
dissolved. 

Instead of words, however, it may be sufficient for the va- a nod or 
lidity of the marriage contract to substitute a nod or other un- q^o^" 6 " 
equivocal sign of tacit consent : even silence, when the result sign may 
of female modesty, may be sufficient, provided the parents an- cient. 
swer for their daughter. Hence the pastor will teach the 
faithful that the nature and force of marriage consist in the tie 
and obligation ; and that, without consummation, the consent Consum- 
of the parties, expressed in the manner already explained, is matonnot 

. r . , . necessary. 

sufficient to constitute a true marriage. It is certain that our 
first parents, before their fall, when, according to the Holy 
Fathers, no consummation took place, were really united in 
marriage. (6) The Holy Fathers, therefore, say that marriage 
consists not in its consummation, but in the consent of the con- 
tracting parties; a doctrine repeated by S. Ambrose in his 
book on virginity. (7) 

Having explained these matters, the pastor will proceed to Marriage 
teach, that matrimony is to be considered in two points of view, twc - fold 

either as a natural union, (marriage was invented not by man and sacm- 

mental. 
(6) Gen. ii. 22. (7) De insl.it. virgin, cap. 6. 



304 THE CATECHISM OF 

but by nature) or as a sacrament, the efficacy of which tran- 
scends the order of nature ; and as grace perfects nature, (" That 
" was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural ; af- 
" terwards that which is spiritual,") (8) the order of our mat- 
ter requires that we first treat of matrimony as a natural con- 
tract, and next as a sacrament. 
Natural The faithful, therefore, are to be taught, in the first place, 
inst7tuted ^at marr i a o e was instituted by God. We read in Genesis, 
by God. that " God created them male and female, and blessed them 
u saying : ' Increase and multiply :' " and also ; u it is not good 
"for man to be alone : let us make him a help like unto him- 
" self. Then the Lord cast a deep sleep upon Adam ; and when 
" he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh 
" for it. And the Lord built the rib which he took from Adam 
" into a woman, and brought her to Adam ; and Adam said : 
" this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh : she shall 
" be called woman, because she was taken out of man: where- 
" fore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to 
" his wife; and they shall be two in one flesh.'" (9) These 
words, according to the authority of our Lord himself as we 
read in S. Matthew, establish the divine institution of Matri- 
mony. (10) 
Indissolu- Not only did God institute marriage ; he also, as the Coun- 
ble- cil of Trent declares, rendered it perpetual and indissoluble : 

(11) " what God hath joined together," says our Lord, let not 
" man separate." (12) As a natural contract, it accords with 
the duties of marriage that it be indissoluble ; yet its indissolu- 
bility arises principally from its nature as a sacrament ; and 
this it is that, in all its natural relations, elevates it to the high- 
est perfection. Its dissolubility, however, is at once opposed 
to the proper education of children, and to the other important 
ends of marriage. 
Marriage But the words, " increase and multiply," which were utter- 
tor/onall. ed by Almighty God, do not impose on every individual an 
obligation to marry : they declare the object of the institution 
of marriage; and now that the human race is widely diffused, 

(S) 1 Cor. xv. 46. (9) Gen. i. 27, 28. Gen. ii. 18, 21, 22, 23, 24. 

(10) Matth. xix. 6. (\ 1) Sess. 24. init. (12) Matth. xix. 6. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 305 

not only is there no law rendering marriage obligatory, but, on 
the contrary, virginity is highly exalted and strongly recom- 
mended in scripture as superior to marriage, as a state of great- 
er perfection and holiness. On this subject the doctrine taught 
by our Lord himself is contained in these words : " He that 
" can take it, let him take it - ," (13) and the Apostle says: 
" Concerning virgins I have no commandment from the Lord ; 
"but I give counsel as having obtained mercy from the Lord to 
"be faithful." (14) 

But why marriage was instituted is a subject which demands Marriage 
exposition — The first reason of its institution is because nature 7 t y d insti " 
instinctively tends to such an union ; and under the vicissitudes I. 
of life and the infirmities of age, this union is a source of mutu- 
al assistance and support. Another is the desire of family, not II. 
so much, however, with a view to' leave after us heirs to inhe- 
rit our property and fortune, as to bring up children in the true 
faith and in the service of God. That such was the principal 
object of the Holy Patriarchs when they engaged in the married 
state, we learn from the Sacred Volumes ; and hence the angel, 
when informing Tobias of the means of repelling the violent 
assaults of the evil demon, says : " I will show thee who they 
" are over whom the devil can prevail ; for they who in such 
" manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from them- 
" selves and from their mind, and to give themselves to their 
" lust, as the horse and mules which have not understanding, 
" over them the devil hath power." He then adds : " thou 
" shalt take the virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather 
" for love of children than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham 
" thou mayest obtain a blessing in children." (15) This was Note 
also amongst the reasons why God instituted marriage from the 
beginning ; and therefore married persons who, to prevent con- 
ception or procure abortion, have recourse to medicine, are guil- 
ty of a most heinous crime — nothing less than premeditated 
murder. The third reason is one which is to be numbered III. 
amongst the consequences of primeval transgression : stript of 
original innocence human appetite began to rise in rebellion 
against right reason; and man, conscious of his own frailty, 

(13) Matth. xix. 12. (14) 1 Cor. vii. J5. (15) Tob. vi. 16, 17, IS, 82. 

39 



306 THE CATECHISM OF 

and unwilling to fight the battles of the flesh, is supplied by 
marriage with an antidote against the licentiousness of corrupt 
desire. " For fear of fornication," says the Apostle, " let 
" every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her 
" own husband ;" and a little after, having recommended to 
married persons a temporary abstinence from the marriage 
debt, " to give themselves to prayer," he adds : " Return to- 
" gether again, lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency." 
(16) 
Note. These are ends, some one of which, those who desire to con- 
tract marriage piously and religiously, as becomes the children 
of the Saints, should propose to themselves. If to these we 
add other concurring causes which induce to contract marriage, 
,11 such as the desire of leaving an heir, wealth, beauty, illustrious 
descent, congeniality of disposition, such motives, because not 
inconsistent with the holiness of marriage, are not to be con- 
demned : We do not find that the Sacred Scriptures condemn 
the patriarch Jacob for having chosen Rachel for her beauty, 
in preference toLia. (17) 
Matrimo- These are the instructions which the pastor will communi- 
cfament, a " cate to & e faithful on the subject of marriage, as a natural con- 
superiorto tract: as a sacrament he will show that marriage is raised to a 

the natural 

contract, superior order, and referred to a more exalted end. The ori- 
ginal institution of marriage, as a natural contract, had for ob- 
ject the propagation of the human race : its subsequent eleva- 
tion to the dignity of a sacrament is intended for the procrea- 
tion and education of a people in the religion and worship of 
Exempli- the true God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Re- 
union of deemer would exemplify the close union that subsists between 

Christ and hj m an( j hi s Church, and his boundless love towards us, he de- 
hisChurch. ... 

clares this divine mystery principally by alluding to the holy 

union of man and wife ; and the aptitude of the illustration is 

evinced by this, that of all human relations no one is so binding 

as that of marriage, and those who stand in that relation are 

united in the closest bonds of affection and love. Hence the 

Sacred Scripture, by assimilating it to marriage, frequently 

place before us this divine union of Christ with his Church. 

(16) 1 Cor. vii. 2. (17) Gen. xxix. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 307 

That marriage is a sacrament has been at all times held by Marriage a 
the Church as a certain and well ascertained truth ; and in this 
she is supported by the authority of the Apostle in his Epistle 
to the Ephesians : " Husbands," says he, " should love their 
" wives, as their own bodies : he who loveth his wife, loveth 
" himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth 
" and cherisheth it, even as Christ doth the Church, for we are 
" members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this 
" cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave 
" to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh. This is a 
" great sacrament, but I speak in Christ, and in the Church." 
(18) When the Apostle says: '" This is a great sacrament," 
he means, no doubt, to designate marriage; (19) as if he had 
said : The conjugal union between man and wife, of which 
God is the author, is a sacrament, that is, a sacred sign of the 
holy union that subsists between Christ and his Church. That 
this is the true meaning of his words is shown by the Holy 
Fathers who have interpreted the passage ; and the Council of 
Trent has given to it the same interpretation. (20) The hus- 
band, therefore, is evidently compared by the Apostle to 
Christ, the wife to the Church ; (21) " the man is head of the 
" woman, as Christ is of the Church ;" (22) and hence the hus- 
band should love his wife, and again, the wife should love and 
respect her husband, for " Christ loved his Church, and gave 
" himself for her ;" and the Church, as the same Apostle teach- 
es, is subject to Christ. 

That this sacrament signifies and confers grace, and in this it signifies 
the nature of a sacrament principally consists, we learn from ~. a ^ s 
these words of the Council of Trent: " The grace which per- 
" fects that natural love, and confirms that indissoluble union, 
" Christ himself, the author and finisher of the sacraments, has 
*| merited for us by his passion." (23) The faithful are, there- 
fore, to be taught, that, united in the bonds of mutual love, the 
husband and the wife are enabled by the grace of this sacra- 
ment, to repose in each others affections ; to reject every cri- 

(lS)Eph. v. 2S. 

(19) Tertull. lib. de Monog. Aug. de fide et oper. c. 7. lib. de nupt. & con- 
cup, c. 10. et 12. (20) Sess. 24. (21) Ambr. in epist. ad Eplies. 
(22) Ephes. v. 23. (23) Sess. 24. de matrim. 



308 THE CATECHISM OF 

minal attachment ; to repel every inclination to unlawful inter- 
course ; and, in every thing to preserve " marriage honorable, 
" and the bed undefiled." (24) 

The great superiority of the sacrament of matrimony to 
ority to those marriages which took place before or after the Law, we 
andJewish ma y l earn f rom the following considerations — The Gentiles, it 
marriage. j s true, looked upon marriage as something sacred, and there- 
fore considered promiscuous intercourse to be inconsistent 
with the law of nature : they also held that fornication, adul- 
tery, and other licentious excesses should be repressed by le- 
gal sanctions; but their marriages had nothing whatever of 
the nature of a sacrament. Amongst the Jews the laws of 
marriage were observed with more religious fidelity, and their 
marriages, no doubt, were more holy. Having received the 
promise that in the seed of Abraham all nations should be bless- 
ed, (25) it was justly deemed a matter of great piety amongst 
them to beget children, the offspring of a chosen people, from 
whom, as to his human nature, Christ our Lord and Saviour was 
to descend ; but their marriage also wanted the true nature of 
a Sacrament. Of this it is a further confirmation that, wheth- 
er we consider the law of nature after the fall of Adam, or the 
law given to Moses, we at once perceive that marriage had 
fallen from its primitive excellence and sanctity. Under the 
Law of Moses we find that many of the Patriarchs had sever- 
al wives at the same time, and, should a cause exist, it was 
subsequently permitted to dismiss one's wife, having given her 
a bill of divorce ; (26) both of which abuses have been remov- 
ed by the Gospel dispensation, and marriage restored to its 
primitive state. 
Polygamy That polygamy is opposed to the nature of marriage is shown 
opposed to k y our L or( j i n these words : •' For this cause a man shall leave 

the nature •> 

of mar- " father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they two shall 

nage ' " be in one flesh. Therefore," continues the Redeemer, " now 

" they are not two but one flesh." (27) The Patriarchs, who, 

by the permission of God, had a plurality of wives, are not on 

that account to be condemned : the words of the Redeemer, 

(24) Heb. xiii. 4. (25) Gen. xxii. 18, 18. 

(26) Deut. xxiv. 1. Matth. xix. 7. (21) Matth. xix. 9. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 309 

however, clearly show that marriage was instituted by God 
as the union of two only ; and this he again expressly declares 
when he says : " Whoever shall dismiss his wife, and shall 
" marry another, doth commit adultery, and he that shall marry 
"her that is dismissed, committeth adultery." (28) If a plu- 
rality of wives be lawful, we can discover no more reason why 
he who marries a second wife, whilst he retains the first, 
should be said to be guilty of adultery, than he who, having dis- 
missed the first, takes to himself a second. Hence, if an infi- 
del, in accordance with the laws and customs of his country, 
has married several wives, the church commands him, when 
converted to the faith, to look upon the first alone as his lawful 
wife, and to separate from the others. 

That marriage cannot be dissolved by divorce is easily prov- Marriage 
ed from the same testimony of our Lord : if by a bill of divorce ble. 
the matrimonial link were dissolved, the wife might lawfully, 
and without the guilt of adultery, take another husband ; yet 
our Lord expressly declares, that " whoever shall dismiss his 
"wife and marry another, committeth adultery." (29) The 
bond of marriage, therefore, can be dissolved by death alone, 
and this the Apostle confirms when he says : " A woman is 
" bound by the law, as long as her husband liveth ; but if her 
" husband die, she is at liberty : let her marry whom she will 
" only in the Lord ;" and again : " To them that are married, 
" not I, but the Lord commandeth, that 'the wife depart not from 
" her husband, and if she depart, that she remain unmarried or 
" be reconciled to her husband." (30) Thus, to her who has 
separated from her husband, even for a just cause, the only al- 
ternative left by the Apostle is to remain unmarried or be re- 
conciled to her husband: the Church, unless influenced by very 
weighty causes, does not sanction the separation of husband 
and wife. 

That this the law of marriage may not appear too rigorous, Beneficial 
its beneficial consequences are to be presented to the conside- celTof its' 1 " 
ration of the faithful. In the first place, they should know jndissolo- 

. bility. 

that the choice of a companion for life should be influenced by I. 
virtue and congeniality of disposition, rather than by wealth or 

(28) Matth. xix. 9. (29) Matth. xix. 8. Luke, xvi. IS. (30) 1 Cor. vii. 39. 



310 THE CATECHISM OF 

beauty ; a consideration which confessedly is of the highest 
II. practical importance to the interests of society. Besides, if 
marriage were dissoluble by divorce, married persons could 
scarcely ever want causes of dissention, which the inveterate 
m - enemy of peace and virtue would never fail to supply ; where- 
as, when the faithful reflect that, although separated as to bed 
and board, they are still bound by the tie of marriage, and that 
all hope of a second marriage is cut off, they are more slow to 
IV. anger and more averse to dissention ; and if sometimes separat- 
ed, feeling the many inconveniences that attend their separation, 
their reconciliation is easily accomplished through the inter- 
v - vention of friends. Here, the salutary admonition of S. Augus- 
tine is also not to be omitted by the pastor : to convince the 
faithful that they should not deem it a hardship to be reconcil- 
ed to their penitent wives, whom they may have put away for 
adultery. " Why" says he, " should not the Christian husband 
" receive his wife, whom the Church receives ? Why should 
"not the wife pardon her adulterous but penitent husband, 
" whom Christ has pardoned ? When the Scriptures call him 
"who keeps an adulteress ' a fool,' (31) it means an adulteress 
" who after her delinquency refuses to repent, and perseveres 
" in the career of turpitude which he had commenced." (32) 
In perfection and dignity, it is clear therefore, from what has 
been said, that marriage amongst the Jews and Gentiles is far 
inferior to christian marriage. 
Three ad- The faithful are also to be informed that there are three ad- 
arising vantages which arise from marriage, offspring, faith and the 
ria^e "^ sacrament 5 advantages which alleviate those evils which the 
Apostle points out when he says : " Such shall have tribulation 
" of the flesh ;" (33) and which render that intercourse, which 
without marriage should be deservedly reprobated, an honor- 
I- able union. (34) The first advantage, then, is that of legiti- 
mate offspring; an advantage so highly appreciated by the 
Apostle, that he says : " The woman shall be saved through 
" child-bearing." ( 35) These words of the Apostle are not, 
however, to be understood to refer solely to the procreation of 

(31) Prov. xviii. 21. (32) Lib. de adult, conjug. c. 6. & 9. 

(33) 1 Cor. vii. 28. (34) Vid. Aug. lib. 5. oontr. Till. nap. 5. 

(35) 1 Tim. ii. 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 31 1 

children: they also refer to the discipline and education by 
which children are reared to piety; for the Apostle immediate- 
ly adds : " If she continue in faith." " Hast thou children," 
says Ecclesiasticus, " instruct them and bow down their neck 
" from their childhood ;" (36) the same important lesson is in- 
culcated by the Apostle ; and of such an education the Scrip- 
ture affords the most beautiful illustrations in the persons of 
Tobias, Job, and of other characters eminent for sanctity. — 
But the further developement of the duties of parents and chil- Note. 
dren we reserve for the exposition of the Fourth Command- 
ment. 

The next advantage is faith, not the habitual faith infused in II- 
baptism, but the fidelity which the husband plights to the wife 
and the wife to the husband, to deliver to each other the mu- 
tual dominion, of their persons, and to preserve inviolate the 
sacred engagements of marriage. This is an obvious infer- 
ence from the words of Adam on receiving his consort Eve, 
which, as the Gospel inform us, the Redeemer has sanctioned 
by his approbation : " Wherefore," says our protoparent, 
" a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his 
" wife ; and they shall be two in one flesh." (37) Nor are the 
words of the Apostle less explicit : " The wife," says he, 
" hath not power of her own body ; but the husband." (38) 
Hence against adultery, because it violates this conjugal faith, 
the Almighty justly decreed in the Old Law the heaviest chas- 
tisements. (39) This matrimonial faith also demands, on the 
part of husband and wife, a singular holy and pure love, a 
love not such as that of adulterers, but such as that which 
Christ cherishes towards his Church. This is the model of 
conjugal love proposed by the Apostle when he says : " Men 
" love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church." (40) 
The love of Christ for his Church was great, not an interest- 
ed love, but a love which proposed to itself the sole happiness 
of his spouse. 

The third advantage is called the sacrament, that is the in- HI. 
dissoluble ties of marriage : " the Lord," says the Apostle, 

(36) Eccl. vii. 25. (37) Gen. ii. 24. Matth. xix. 9. 5. 

(38) 1 Cor. vii. 4. (39) Num. V. 12. (40) Ephes. v. 25. 



312 THE CATECHISM OF 

"hath commanded that the wife depart not from her husband, 
" and if she depart, that she remain unmarried, or be reconcil- 
" ed to her husband ; and that the husband dismiss not his 
"wife." (41) If, as a sacrament, marriage is significant 
of the union of Christ with his Church, it follows that as 
Christ never separates himself from his Church, so a wife, as 
far as regards the tie of marriage, can never be separated 
from her husband. 
Duties of a The more easily to preserve the happiness of this holy union 
^ i. ' undisturbed by domestic broils, the pastor will instruct the faith- 
ful in the duties of husband and wife, as inculcated by S. Paul 
and by the prince of the Apostles. (42) It is then the duty of 
the husband to treat his wife liberally and honorably : it should 
not be forgotten that Eve was called by Adam " his compan- 
" ion :" " The woman," says he, " whom thou gavest me as a 
"companion." Hence it was according to the opinion of 
some of the Holy Fathers, that she was formed not from the 
feet but from the side of man ; as, on the other hand, she was 
not formed from his head, in order to give her to understand 
II. that it was not hers to command but to obey her husband. The 
husband should also be constantly occupied in some honest 
pursuit, with a view as well to provide necessaries for his 
family, as to avoid the languor of idleness, the root of almost 
ni every vice. He is also to keep all his family in order, to cor- 
rect their morals, fix their respective employments, and see 
Duties of a that they discharge them with fidelity. On the other hand, 
W1 e 'j the duties of a wife are thus summed up by the prince of the 
Apostles : " Let wives be subject to their husbands ; that if 
" any believe not the word, they may be won without the 
" word, by the conversation of the wives ; considering your 
" chaste conversation with fear : whose adorning let it not 
"be the outward plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of 
"gold, or the putting on of apparel, but the hidden man of the 
" heart in the incorruptibility of a quiet and meek spirit, which 
" is rich in the sight of God. For after this manner, hereto- 
" fore, the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned 

(41) Cor. vii. 10. 

(42) Vid. Aug. I. I. de adult, conjug. c. 21 & 22. & de bonoconjug. car. 7. 
& concupis. lib. I.e. 10. 



I 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 313 

" themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands, as 
' Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord." (43) To train up n - 
their children in the practice of virtue, and to pay particular 
attention to their domestic concerns, should also be especial 
objects of their attention and study. Unless compelled by IIT - 
necessity to go abroad, they should also cheerfully remain at 
home ; and should never leave home without the permission of IV. 
their husbands. Again, and in this the conjugal union chiefly 
consists, let them never forget that, next to God, they are to 
love their husbands, to esteem them above all others, yielding 
to them, in all things not inconsistent with Christian piety, a 
willing and obsequious obedience. 

Having explained these matters, the pastor will next pro- Rites ob- 
ceed to instruct his people in the rites to be observed in the thTadmm- 
administration of marriage. Here, however, it is not to be istration of 
supposed that we give in detail the laws that regulate mar- 
riage : these have been accurately fixed, and are detailed at 
large in the decree of the Council of Trent on marriage, a de- 
cree with which the pastor cannot be unacquainted. Here, 
therefore, it will suffice to admonish him to study to make 
himself acquainted, from the doctrine of the Council, with 
what regards this subject, and to make it a matter of assiduous 
exposition to the faithful. (44) 

But above all, lest young persons, and youth is a period of Youth to 
life marked by extreme weakness and indiscretion, deceived ished on 
by the specious but misapplied name of marriage, may rush of^"^ 601 
into hasty engagements, the result of criminal passion; the "age. 
pastor cannot too frequently remind them that, without the pre- 
sence of the parish-priest, or of some other priest commission- 
ed by him or by the ordinary, and that of two or three wit- 
nesses, there can be no marriage. 

The impediments of marriage are also to be explained, a The impe- 

subiect so minutely and accuratelv treated bv manv writers on d,ments of . 

, J m J . . marriage, 

morality, of grave authority and profound erudition, as to ren- 
der it an easy task to the pastor to draw upon their labours, 
particularly as he has occasion to have such works continually 
in his hands. The instructions, therefore, which they contain, 

(43) 1 Pet. iii. 1, 2. (44) Sess. 24. decret. de reformat, matrimon. 

40 



314 THE CATECHISM OF 

and also the decrees of the Council with regard to the impedi- 
ments arising from "spiritual affinity," from "the justice of 
" public honesty," and from " fornication," the pastor will pe- 
ruse with attention and expound with care and accuracy. 
Thedispo- The faithful may hence learn the dispositions with which 
with which they should approach the sacrament of marriage: they should 
menTof 1 " consider themselves as about to engage, not in a human work, 
marriage is Du t i n a divine ordinance; and the example of the Fathers of 
proached. the Old Law, by whom marriage, although not raised to the 
dignity of a sacrament, was deemed a most holy and religious 
rite, evinces the singular purity of soul and sentiments of pie- 
ty, with which Christians should approach so holy a sacra- 
ment. 
Clandes- But, amongst many other matters there is one which de- 
riage" 1 "" man ds the zealous exhortation of the pastor, it is, that chil- 
dren pay it as a tribute of respect due to their parents, or to 
those under whose guardianship and authority they are pla- 
ced, not to engage in marriagejwithout their knowledge, still 
less in defiance of their express wishes. In the Old Law 
children were uniformly given in marriage by their parents ; 
and that the will of the parent is always to have very great 
influence on the choice of the child, is clear from these words 
of the Apostle : " He that giveth his virgin in marriage doth 
" well ; and he that giveth her not, doth better." (45) 
Two les- Finally, with regard to the use of marriage, this is a subject 
sons of in- w hich the pastor will approach with becoming delicacy, 
which re- avoiding the use of any expression that may be unfit to meet 
useofmar-the ears of the faithful, that may be calculated to offend the 
ria g e - piety of some, or excite the laughter of others. " The words 
" of the Lord are chaste words ;" (46) and the teachers of a 
christian people should make use of no language that is not 
characterised by gravity, and that does not breathe purity of 
soul. Two lessons of instruction are, then, to be specially 
I. pressed upon the attention of the faithful : the first, that mar- 
riage is not to be sought from motives of sensuality, but that 
its use is to be restrained within those limits, which, as we 
have already shown, are fixed by God. They should be mind- 

(45) 1 Cor. vii. 38. (46) Ps. xi. 7. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 315 

ful of the exhortation of the Apostle : " They," says he, " that 
" have wives, let them be as though they had them not." (47) 
The words of S. Jerome are also worthy of attention : " The 
" love," says he, " which a wise man cherishes towards his 
" wife, is the result of judgment, not the impulse of passion : 
" he governs the impetuosity of desire, and is not hurried into 
" indulgence. What greater turpitude than that a husband 
«■ should love his wife, as the seducer loves the adulteress." 
(48) But as every blessing is to be obtained from God by ho- II. 
ly prayer, the faithful are also to be taught sometimes to ab- 
stain from the marriage debt, in order to devote themselves to 
prayer. This religious continence, according to the proper 
and pious injunction of our predecessors in the faith, is parti- 
cularly to be observed for at least three days previous to com- 
munion, and for a longer time during the solemn and peniten- 
tial season of Lent. Thus will the faithful experience the 
blessings of the holy state of marriage by a constantly increas- 
ing accumulation of divine grace ; and living in the pursuit and 
practice of piety, they will not only spend this mortal life in 
peace and tranquillity, but will also repose in the true and firm 
hope, " which confoundeth not," (49) of arriving one day, 
through the divine goodness, at the fruition of that life which 
is eternal. (50) 

(47) 1 Cor. vii. 29. (48) S. Hier. lib. 1. contra. Iovian. in fine. 

(49) Rom. v. 5. 

(50) Vid. 33. q. 4. per totan & de consecr. dist. 2. cap. omnis homo. Hier. in 
apol. pro libris contra Iovian. post medium inter epist. num. 50. & in c. 12. 
Zach. super, illud : " In die planctus magnus erit fructus thori immaculati." 




THE 

CATECHISM 

OF 

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



PART III. 

ON THE DECALOGUE. 



The Deca- That the Decalogue is an epitome of the entire law of God 

epftomTof is the recorded opinion of S. Augustine. (1) The Lord, it is 

la" 3 C f God true > * iac * uttere( * many things for the instruction and guidance 

of his people; yet two tables only were given to Moses. 

They were made of stone, and were called " the tables of the 

" testimony," and were to be deposited in the ark ; and on 

them, if minutely examined and well understood, will be found 

to hinge whatever else is commanded by God. Again, these 

ten commandments are reducible to two, the love of God and 

of our neighbour, on which " depend the whole Law and the 

Prophets." (2) 

To be care- Embodying then, as the Decalogue does, the whole Law, it 

died and" * s tne imperative duty of the pastor to give his days and nights 

explained to its consideration ; and to this he should be prompted by a 

by the pas- 

tor. desire not only to regulate his own life by its precepts, but also 

to instruct in the law of God the people committed to his care. 

(1) Quaestio 140. supper Exod. (2) Matth. xxii. 40. 



THE CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 317 

" The lips of the priest," says Malachy, " shall keep know- 
" ledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, because he 
" is the angel of the Lord of Hosts." (3) To the priests of 
the New Law this injunction applies in a special manner ; they 
are nearer to God, and should be " transformed from glory to 
" glory as by the Spirit of the Lord." (4) Christ our Lord 
has said that they are " the light of the world :" (5) they should, 
therefore, be "a light to them that are in darkness, the instruc- 
" tors of the foolish, the teachers of infants ;" (6) and " if a man 
" be overtaken in any fault, those who are spiritual should in- 
" struct such a one." (7) In the tribunal of penance the priest 
holds the place of a judge, and pronounces sentence according 
to the nature of the offence. Unless, therefore, he is desirous 
that his ignorance should prove an injury to himself, and an 
injustice to others, he must bring with him to the discharge of 
this duty, the greatest vigilance, and the most intimate and 
practised acquaintance with the interpretation of the Law, in 
order to be able to pronounce according to this divine rule on 
every omission and commission ; and that, as the Apostle says, 
he teach sound doctrine, (8) doctrine free from error, and heal 
the diseases of the soul, which are the sins of the people, that 
they may be "acceptable to God, pursuers of good works." (9) 

In the discharge of this duty of instruction, the pastor will Motives 
propose to himself and to others such considerations, as may, 
be best calculated to impress upon the mind the conviction, 
that obedience to the law of God is the duty of every man ; and 
if in the Law there are many motives to stimulate to its observ- 
ance, there is one which of all others is powerfully impressive — 
it is, that God is its author. True y it is said to have been de- 
livered by angels, (10) but its author, we repeat, is God. Thus, 
not only the words of the Legislator himself, which we shall 
subsequently explain, but also, innumerable other passages of 
Scripture, which the memory of the pastor will readily sup- 
ply, bear ample testimony. Who is not conscious that a law 
is inscribed on his heart by the finger of God, teaching him to 
distinguish good from evil, vice from virtue, justice from in- 

(3) Mai. ii. 7. (4) 2 Cor. iii. 18. (5) Matth. v. 14. (6) Rom. ii. 19, 20. 
(1) Gal. vi. 1. (8) 2 Tim. iv. 3. (9) Tit. ii. 14. (10J Gal. iii. 19. 



318 THE CATECHISM OF 

justice ? The force and import of his unwritten law do not 
conflict with that which is written. How unreasonable then 
to deny that God is the author of the written, as he is of the 
unwritten law. 
The writ- But, lest the people, aware of the abrogation of the Mosaic 
why given. Law, may imagine that the precepts of the Decalogue are no 
longer obligatory, the pastor will inform them, that these pre- 
cepts were not delivered as new laws, but rather as a renewal 
and developement of the law of nature : its divine light, which 
was obscured and almost extinguished by the crimes and the 
perversity of man, shines forth in the celestial code with in- 
Note. creased and renovated splendor. The Ten Commandments, 
however, we are not bound to obey because delivered by Mo- 
ses, but because they are so many precepts of the natural law, 
and have been explained and confirmed by our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 
Considera- But it must prove a most powerful and persuasive argument 
cukted to for enforcing its observance, to reflect that the founder of the 
e b f °r C an 3e L aw * s n0 l ess a P erson tnan God himself — that God whose 

I. wisdom and justice we mortals cannot question — whose power 
and might we cannot elude. Hence, we find that when by 
his prophet, he commands the Law to be observed, he pro- 
claims that he is "the Lord God." The Decalogue, also, 
opens with the same solemn admonition : "I am the Lord thy 
" God ;" (11) and in Malachy we read the indignant interroga- 

II. tory : " If I am a master, where is my fear ?" (12) That God 
has vouchsafed to give us a transcript of his holy will, on 
which depends our eternal salvation, is a consideration which, be- 
sides animating the faithful to the observance of his command- 
ments, must call forth the expression of their grateful homage 
in return for his beneficent condescension. Hence the Sacred 
Scriptures, in more passages than one, setting forth this invalu- 
able blessing, admonish us to know our own dignity, and to 
appreciate the divine bounty : " This," says Moses, " is your 
" wisdom and understanding in the sight of nations, that hear- 
" ing all these precepts they may say : ' behold a wise and un- 
" ' derstanding people, a great nation ;'" (13) "He hath not 

(11) Exod. xx. 2. (12) Malach. i. 6. (13) Deut. iv. 6. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 319 

" done in like manner to every nation ;" says the royal psalm- 
ist, " and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them." 
(14) 

The circumstances which accompanied the promulgation of cumstanc- 
the Law, as recorded in the Sacred Volumes, also demand the es wh | ch - 

' ' attended 

attention of the pastor; they are well calculated to convey toitspromul- 
the minds of the faithful an idea of the piety and humility with ga 10n " 
which they should receive and reverence a Law delivered by 
God himself — Three days previous to its promulgation, was 
announced to the people the divine command, to wash their gar- 
ments, to abstain from conjugal intercourse, in order that they 
may be more holy and better prepared to receive the Law, 
and on the third day to be in readiness to hear its awful an- 
nouncement. When they had reached the mountain from 
which the Lord was to deliver the Law by Moses, Moses 
alone was commanded to ascend ; and the Lord descending from 
on high with great majesty, filling the mount with thunder and 
lightning, with fire and dense clouds; spoke to Moses, and 
delivered to him the Law. (15) In this the divine wisdom had Note - 
solely for object to admonish us to receive this Law with pure 
and humble minds, and to impress the salutary truth, that over 
the neglect of his commands impend the heaviest chastisements 
of the divine justice. 

The pastor will also teach that the commandments of God its observ- 
are not difficult of observance, as these words of S. Augustine ance > eas y- 
are alone sufficient to show : " How, I ask, is it said to be im- 
" possible for man to love — to love, I say, a beneficent Creator, 
" a 'most loving Father, and also, in the persons of his bre- 
" thren, to love his own flesh ? Yet, ' he who loveth hath ful- 
" 'filled the Law."' (16) (17) Hence, the Apostle S. John ex- 
pressly says, that " the commandments of God are not heavy ;" 
(18) for, as S. Bernard observes, " no duty more just could be 
" exacted from man, none that could confer on him a more ex- 
" alted dignity, none that could contribute more largely to his 
" own interests." (19) Hence in this pious effusion addressed to 
the Deity himself, S. Augustine expresses his admiration of his 

(14) Ps. cxlvii. 20. (15) Exod. xix. 10. et seq. 

(16,) Aug. serm. 47. de temp. (17) Rom. xiii. 8. 

(18 ) 1 John, v. 3. (19) Lib. de diligendo Deo, 1. 1. Confess, c. 5. 



320 THE CATECHISM OF 

infinite bounty : " What," says he, " is a man that thou wouldst 
" be loved by him ? And if he loves thee not, thou threatenest 
" him with heavy punishment — Is it not punishment enough that 
" I love thee not ?" 
Human in- f$ut should any one plead human infirmity to exculpate him- 
plea for its self from not loving God, it is not to be forgotten that he who 
"ance bSer " demands our l° ve " pours into our hearts by the Holy Ghost'' 
the fervour of his love, (20) "and this good Spirit of our Hea- 
" venly Father gives to those that ask him." (21) "Give what 
" thou commandest," says S. Augustine, " and command what 
" thou pleaseth." (22) As then, God is ever ready by his di- 
vine assistance to sustain our weakness, especially since the 
death of Christ the Lord, by which the prince of this world 
was cast out; there is no reason why we should be disheart- 
ened by the difficulty of the undertaking ; to him who loves, 
nothing is difficult. (23) 
All bound To show that we are all laid under the necessity of obeying 

to obey its . , /. J . ° 

injunctions the Law is a consideration, which must possess additional weight 
in the enforcement of its observance ; and it becofties the more 
necessary to dwell on this particular in these our days, when 
there are not wanting those who, to the serious injury of their 
own souls, have the impious hardihood to assert that the ob- 
servance of the Law, whether easy or difficult, is by no means 
necessary to salvation. This wicked and impious error the 
pastor will refute from Scripture, by the authority of which 
they endeavour to defend their impious doctrine. What then 
are the words of the Apostle ? " Circumcision is nothing, and 
" uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the command- 
" ments of God." (24) Again, inculcating the same doctrine 
he says : " a new creature, in Christ, alone avails :" (25) by "a 
" new creature," evidently meaning him who observes the com- 
mandments of God ; for, as our Lord himself testifies in S. John, 
he who observes the commandments of God loves God: "If 
" any one love me," says the Redeemer, " he will keep my 
Note. " word." (26) A man, it is true, may be justified, and from 

(20) Rom. v. 5. (21) Luke > »• 13 - 

(22) Lib. 10. confess, c. 29, 31 et 37. Item de bono persever. c. 20. 

(23) Aug. in Ps. iii. Bern. Serm. de Dom. in ram is palm, item in serai, de 
Magdal. (24) 1 Cor. vii. 19. (25) Gal. vi. 15. (26) John, xiv. 21, 23. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 321 

wicked may become righteous, before he has fulfilled by ex- 
ternal acts each of the divine commandments ; but no one who 
has arrived at the use of reason, unless sincerely disposed to 
observe them all, can be justified. 

Finally, to leave nothing unsaid that may be calculated to Fruits of 
induce to an observance of the Law, the pastor will point out auce. 
how abundant and sweet are its fruits. This he will easily ac- 
complish by referring to the eighteenth psalm, which celebrates 
the praises of the divine Law, amongst which its highest eulogy 
is, that it proclaims more eloquently the glory and the majesty 
of God than even the celestial orbs, which by their beauty and 
order, excite the admiration of the most barbarous nations, and 
compel them to acknowledge and proclaim the glory, the wis- 
dom, and the power of the Creator and Architect of the Uni- 
verse. " The Law of the Lord" also " converts souls ;" know- 
ing the ways of God and his holy will through the medium of 
his Law, we learn to walk in the way of the Lord. It also, 
" gives wisdom to little ones :" (27) they alone who fear God 
are truly wise. Hence, the observers of the Law of God are 
filled with a profusion of pure delights, are enlightened by the 
knowledge of the divine mysteries, and are blessed with an ac- 
cumulation of pleasures and rewards as well in this life, as in 
the life to come. 

In our observance of the Law, however, we should not be To be ob- 
actuated so much by a sense of our own advantage as by a re- gaCTof ° 
gardfor the holy will of God, unfolded to man by the promul- God - 
gation of his Law : if the irrational part of creation is obedient 
to this his sovereign will, how much more reasonable that 
man should live in subjection to its dictate ? 

A further consideration which cannot fail to arrest our at- A great 
tention is, that God has pre-eminently displayed his clemency wa j ts its 
and the riches of his bounty in this, that whilst he might have observance 
commanded our service without a reward, he has, notwith- 
standing, deigned to identify his own glory with our advantage, 
thus rendering what tends to his honor, conducive to our in- 
terests. This is a consideration of the highest importance, 
and one which proclaims aloud the goodness of God. The 

(27) Ps. xviii. S. 

41 



322 THE CATECHISM OF 

pastor then will not fail to impress on the minds of the faithful 
this salutary truth, telling them in the language of the prophet 
whom we have last quoted, that " in keeping the command- 
" ments of God there is a great reward." (28) Not only are 
we promised those blessings which seem to have reference to 
earthly happiness, to be " blessed in the city, and blessed in 
" the field ;" (29) but we are also promised " a very great re- 
" ward in heaven," (30) "good measure, pressed down, sha- 
" ken together, and running over," (31) which, aided by the 
divine mercy, we merit by our actions when recommended by 
piety and justice. 

(28) Ps. xviii. 12. (29) Deut. xxviii. 3. (30) Matth. v. 12. 

(31) Luke, vi. 3S. * 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



"i AM THE LORD THY GOD, WHO BROUGHT THEE OUT OF 
" THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT OF THE HOUSE OF BOND- 
" AGE : THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE 
" ME : THOU SHALT NOT MAKE TO THYSELF A GRAVEN 
"THING, &C." (1) 



The words The law announced in the Decalogue, although delivered to 
°^ t h e aw the Jews by the Lord from the summit of Sinai, was origin- 
history of a Hy wr itten by the finger of nature on the heart of man, (2) 

the people . x ' 

of Israel to and was, therefore, rendered obligatory on mankind at all 
plained, times by the Author of nature. It will, however, be found ve- 
ry salutary to explain with minute attention the words in 
which it was proclaimed to the people of Israel by Moses, its 

(1) Exod. xx. 2. (2j Rom. i. 19, 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 323 

minister and interpreter, and to present to the faithful an epi- 
tome of the mysterious economy of Providence towards that 
people. 

The pastor will first show, that from amongst the nations Al » epito- 
of the earth, God chose one which descended from Abraham ; history, 
that it was the divine will that Abraham should be a stranger 
in the land of Canaan, the possession of which he had promis- 
ed him ; and that, although for more than forty years he and 
his posterity were wanderers, before they obtained possession 
of the land, God withdrew not from them his protecting care. 
" They passed from nation to nation and from one kingdom to 
" another people ; he suffered no man to hurt them, and he re- 
" proved kings for their sakes." (3) Before they went down 
into Egypt, he sent before them one by whose prudence they 
and the people of Egypt were rescued from famine. In Egypt 
such was his paternal kindness towards them, that although op- 
posed by the power of Pharoah who sought their destruction, 
they increased to an extraordinary degree ; and when severe- 
ly harrassed and cruelly treated as slaves, he raised up Moses 
as a leader to conduct them from bondage with a strong hand — 
This their deliverance is particularly referred to in these 
opening words of the Law ; " I am the Lord thy God who 
" brought thee out of the house of bondage." 

Having premised this brief sketch of the history of the The peo- 
people of Israel, the pastor will not omit to observe, that from f a el°why 
amongst the nations of the earth one was chosen by Almighty c ^ os ^ n b Y 
God whom he called " his people," and by whom he would be 
known and worshipped ; (4) not that they were superior to 
other nations in justice or in numbers, and of this God himself 
reminds them, but because, by the multiplication and aggran- 
disement of an inconsiderable andpmpoverished nation, he would 
display to mankind the extent of his power and the riches of 
his goodness. Such having been the circumstances of the 
Jewish nation, " He was closely joined to them, and loved 
" them," (5) and Lord of heaven and earth as he was, he dis- 
dained not to be called " their God." The other nations were 
thus to be excited to a holy emulation, that seeing the superior 

(3) Ps. civ. 11. (4) Deut. vii. 6, 7. (5) Dent. x. 15. 



324 THE CATECHISM OF 

happiness of the Israelites, mankind might embrace the wor- 
ship of the true God ; as S. Paul says that by placing before 
them the happiness of the Gentiles and the knowledge of the 
true God, "he provoked to emulation those who were his 
« own flesh." (6) 
The Isra- The pastor will next inform the faithful that God suffered 
elites why the Hebrew Fathers to wander for so long a time, and their 

consigned . , . , . . ,,. , 

to such posterity to be oppressed and harrassed by a galling servitude, 
trials. - n orc j er t0 teach USj that to be friends of God we must be en- 
emies of the world, and pilgrims in this vale of tears; that an 
entire detachment from the world gives us an easier access to 
the friendship of God ; and that admitted to his friendship we 
may experience the superior happiness enjoyed by those who 
serve God rather than the world. This is the solemn admoni- 
tion of God himself : " yet they shall serve him, that they may 
" know the difference between my service and the service of a 
" kingdom of the earth." (7) 
The fulfil- The pastor will also remind the faithful that God delayed 
JjJy^pJJjfthe fulfilment of his promise until after the lapse of more than 
mises why four hundred years, in order that the Israelites might be sus- 
ferred. tained by faith and hope ; for, as we shall show more particu- 
larly when we come to explain the First Commandment, God 
will have his children centre all their hopes and repose all 
their confidence in his goodness. 
. Finally, the time and place, when and where the people of 

& place in Israel received this law, deserve particular attention. They 
iaw C was e received it when, having been delivered from the bond- 
delivered a g e f Egypt, they had come into the wilderness ; in order, that 
Ben. impressed with a lively sense of gratitude for a blessing still 

fresh in their recollection, and awed by the dreariness of the 
wild waste in which they journeyed, they might be the better 
disposed to receive the law. To those whose bounty we have 
experienced we are bound by ties of reciprocity ; and when 
man has lost all hope of assistance from his fellow-man, he 
Note, then seeks refuge in the protection of God. We are hence 
given to understand, that the more detached the faithful are 
from the allurements of the world, and the pleasures of sense, 
the more disposed are they to lend a willing ear to the doc- 

(6) Rom. xi. 14. (1) 2 Par. xii. 8. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 325 

trines of salvation : " whom shall he teach knowledge," says 
Isaias, " and whom shall he make to understand the hearing ? 
" Them that are weaned from the milk, that are drawn away 
" from the breasts." (8) 

The pastor, then, will use his best endeavours to induce the Opening 

r ' ' words ot 

faithful to keep continually in view there words, " I am the the Deca- 
" the Lord thy God." From them they will learn that he lo ' gue ' 
who is their Creator and conservator, by whom they were 
made, and are preserved, is also their legislator, and that they 
may truly say with the Psalmist : "He is the Lord our God, 
" and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his 
" hand." (9) The frequent and earnest inculcation of these 
words will also serve to induce the faithful to a more willing 
observance of the law, and a more cautious abstinence from 
sin. 

The words, " who brought thee out of the land of Egvpt A stron g 

7 ° . r .. o~ i incentive 

" and the house of bondage," come next in order ; and, whilst to the love 
they seem to relate solely to the Jews liberated from the bond- ° ° ' 
age of Egypt, are, if considered in their implicit reference to 
universal salvation, still more applicable to Christians, who are 
liberated not from the bondage of Egypt but from the slavery 
of sin, and " the power of darkness, and are translated into the 
'' kingdom of his beloved Son." (10) Contemplating in the vi- 
sion of prophecy the magnitude of this favour, the prophet Je- 
remiah exclaims : " behold the days come, saith the Lord, 
" when it shall be said no more : the Lord liveth that brought 
"forth the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 
"but the Lord liveth that brought the Children of Israel 
" out of the land of the North and out of all the lands to 
" which I cast them out ; and I will bring them again in- 
" to their land which I gave to their Fathers. Behold, I 
" will send many fishes, saith the Lord, and they shall fish 
"them, &c."(ll) Our most indulgent Father has " gath- 
" ered together" through his beloved Son, his " children that 
" were dispersed," (12) that, " being made free from sin, and 
" made the servants of justice," (13) "we may serve before 
" him in holiness and justice all our days." (14) Against eve- 

(8) Isa. xxviii. 9. (9) Ps. xciv. 7. (10) Col. i. 13. 

(11) Jerem. xvi. 14 &seq. (12) John, xi. 52. (13) Rom. vi. 18. 

(14) Luke, i. 74, 75. 



326 THE CATECHISM OF 

ry temptation, therefore, the faithful should arm themselves 
with these words of the Apostle as with a shield : " shall we 
" who are dead to sin live any longer therein ?" (15) We are 
no longer our own : we are his who died and rose again for us : 
he is the Lord our God who has purchased us for himself at 
the price of his blood. Shall we then be any longer capable 
of sinning against the Lord our God, and crucifying him again ? 
Being made truly free, and with that liberty wherewith Christ 
has made us free, let us, as we heretofore yielded our members 
to serve injustice, henceforward yield them to serve justice 
to sanctification. 

Division of "Thou shalt not have strange Gods before me."] 
logu? eCa ' 6 ) The Decalogue naturally divides itself into two parts, 
the first embracing what regards God, the second what regards 
our neighbour ; the duties which we discharge towards our 
neighbour are referred to God ; then only do we fulfil the di- 
vine precept which commands us to love our neighbour, when 
we love him in God. This division of the Decalogue the pas- 
tor will make known to the faithful ; and he will add that the 
commandments which regard God, are those which were in- 
scribed first on the table of the law. 
This pre- He will next show that the words which form the subject 
mands°and matter of the present exposition contain a two-fold precept ; 
whatu tS : t ' ie one man datory, the other prohibitory. When it is said : 
commands " Thou shalt not have strange gods before me," it is equivalent 
to saying: " thou shalt worship me the true God : thou shalt 
" not worship strange gods." The former contains a precept 
of faith, hope and charity — of faith, for, acknowledging God 
to be immoveable, immutable, always the same, faithful, we 
acknowledge an eternal truth in the recognition of these his at- 
tributes : assenting therefore to his oracles, we necessarily yield 
to him all faith and authority — of hope, for who can contem- 
plate his omnipotence, his clemency, his benificence, and not 
repose in him all his hopes ? — of charity, for who can behold 
the riches of his goodness and love, which he lavishes on us 
with so bounteous a hand, and not love him ? with this exalted 

(15; Rom. vi. 2. (10) Exod. xx. 3. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 327 

claim upon our obedience therefore commence, with this con- 
clude all his commandments : " I am the Lord." 

The negative part of the precept is comprised in these words : What it 
" thou shalt not have strange gods before me." This our di- pro ' lts ' 
vine legislator subjoins, not because it is not implied in the 
positive part of the precept, which says equivalently : " thou 
" shalt worship me the only God," for if he is God, he is the 
only God; but on account of the blindness of many, who of old 
professed to worship the true God, and yet adored a multitude . 
of gods. Of these there were many even amongst the Israelites, 
whom Elias reproached with having "halted between two 
" sides," (17) and also amongst the Samaritans, who worship- 
ped the God of Israel and the gods of the nations." (18) 

Having thus explained the precept in its two-fold import, This firs * 
the pastor will observe that this is the first and principal com- mentofsu- 
mandment, not only in order, but also in its nature, dignity and portance" 
excellence. God is entitled to infinitely greater love and to high- t0 the rest - 
er authority with regard to his creatures than the masters or 
monarchs of the earth. He created us, He governs us, He 
nurtured us even in the womb, brought us into existence, and 
still supplies us by his provident care with all the necessaries 
of life. Against this commandment therefore transgress all How vio- 
who have not faith, hope, and charity; a numerous class, ae 
amongst whom are those who fall into heresy, who reject what 
the Church of God teaches ; those who give credit to dreams, 
divination, fortunetelling, and such superstitious illusions ; those 
who despairing of salvation trust not in the goodness of God ; 
and also those who place their happiness solely in the wealth 
of this world, in health and strength, in personal attractions, or 
mental endowments. — But these are matters which the pastor 
will find developed more at large in treatises on morality. (19) 

(17)3 Kings, xviii .21. (18)4 Kings, xvii. 33. 

(19) De variis istis peccatis vide dist. 24. q. 2. raultis in capitibus. Aug. in 
lib. de divinat. daemon, cap. 5. & citatur 26. q. 4. a. secundum. Origen. hom. 
5. in Joshue et habet 26. q. 2. c. sed et illud Aug. lib. 2. de doct. Christian, cap. 
19. and 20. & citatur eodem cap. illud quod est. Cone. Carth. 4. cap. 19. vid. 
plura 26. q. 2. 3 &. 5. 



328 THE CATECHISM OF 



ON THE HONOR AND INVOCATION OF THE SAINTS. 



The honor * N ^ e ex P os iti° n °f ^ s precept, the faithful are also to be 
and invo- accurately taught that the veneration and invocation of angels 
the saints and saints, who enjoy the glory of heaven, and the honor which 
bUed^y tne Catholic Church has always paid even to the bodies and 
this com- ashes of the saints, are not forbidden by this commandmeat. 
(20) Were a king to prohibit by proclamation any individual 
to assume the regal character, or accept the honors due to the 
royal person, how unreasonable to infer from such an edict a 
prohibition that suitable honor and respect should be paid to 
his magistrates ? Of this nature is the relative honor paid by 
the Catholic Church to angels and saints. When, walking in 
the footsteps of those exalted characters, whose names are re- 
corded in the Old Testament, she is said " to adore the angels 
" of God," she venerates them as the special friends and servants 
of God, but gives not to them that supreme honor which is due 
to God alone. 
Angels re- True, we sometimes read that angels refused to be worship- 
fused to be p e d by men; (21) but the worship which they refused to ac- 
ped by cept was the supreme honor due to God alone : the Holy Spirit 
whatocca- who sa y s : " Honor and Glory to God alone," (22) commands 
sions. To us a lso to honor our parents and elders ; (23) and the holy 
e d, men, who adored one God only, are also said in Scripture to 

have " adored," that is supplicated and venerated, kings. If 
then kings, by whose agency God governs the world are so 
highly honored, (24) shall it be deemed unlawful to honor 
those angelic spirits, whom God has been pleased to consti- 

(20) Vid. Trid. sess. 17. de Sacrif. Missse. c. 3. et sess. 25. sub. princip. cap. 
de invocat. Sanctorum. Item vid Synod. 7. act. 6. in fine, item Aug. lib. 8. de 
civit. Dei. c. 27. &1. 10. c. 1. & lib. 21. contra Faust, c. 21. Basil. Horn. 20. in 
40. Mar. &26. de Mar. Mamman : item Nazian. orat. in laud. S. Cyprian. 

(21) Apoc. xix. 10. Apoc. xxii. 9. 

(22) 1 Tim. i. 17. Exod. xx. 2. Levit.xix.il. 

(23) Deut. v. 16. (24) Gen. xxiii. 7. 2 Kings, xxiv. 20. 1 Par. xxix. 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 329 

tute his ministers, whose services he makes use of not only in 
the government of his Church, but also of the Universe, by 
whose invisible aid we are every day delivered from the great- 
est dangers of soul and body ? Are they not, rather, to be 
honored with veneration greater, in proportion as the dignity 
of these blessed spirits exceeds that of kings ? Another claim 
on our veneration is their love of us, which, as the Scripture 
informs us, (25) prompts them to pour out their prayers for 
those countries over which they are placed by Providence, 
and for us whose guardians they are, and whose prayers and 
tears they present before the throne of God. (26) Hence our 
Lord admonishes us in the Gospel not to offend the little ones, 
" because their angels in heaven always see the face of their 
" Father who is in heaven." (27) Their intercession, there- and invo- 
fore, we invoke, because they always see the face of God, 
and are constituted by him the willing advocates of our salva- 
tion. To this their invocation the Scriptures bear testimony — 
Jacob invoked, nay compelled, the angel with whom he wres- 
tled, to bless him, (28) declaring that he would not let him go 
until he had blessed him ; and not only did he invoke the bless- 
ing of the angel whom he saw, but also of him whom he saw 
not : " The angel," says he, " who delivered me out of all evil, 
« bless these children." (29) 

From these attestations we are justified in concluding, that To honor 
to honor the saints "who sleep in the Lord," to invoke their 2JJJ2" 
intercession, and to venerate their sacred relics and ashes, far detract 
from diminishing, tends considerably to increase the glory of adds to the 
God, in proportion as the Christian's hope is thus animated to™^ 116 
and fortified, and he himself excited to the imitation of their 
virtues. This is a doctrine which is also supported by the The Coun- 
authority of the second Council of Nice, (30) the Council of Clls - 
Gangre, (31) and of Trent, (32) and by the testimony of the Thefath _ 
Holy Fathers. (33) In order however that the pastor may be ers. 

(25) Dan. x. 13. (26) Tob. xii. 12. Apoc. viii. 3. (27) Matth. xviii. 10. 
(28) Gen. xxxii. 26. Osee, xii. 4. (29) Gen. xlviii. 16. 

(30) Nicsen. Cone. 2. act. 6. 

(31) Gangr. Can. xx. & citatur dist. 30. cap. si qnis per superbiam. 

(32) Trid. sess. 25. item Cone. Chalced.sub finern & in 6. Synod. General, c. 
7. & Cone. Geron. c. 3. Aurel. 1. c. 29. 

(33) Damasc. de orth. fid. 1. 4. c. 6. 

42 



330 THE CATECHISM OF 

the better prepared to meet the objections of those who im- 
pugn this doctrine, he will consult particularly S. Jerome 
against Vigilantius, and the fourth book, sixteenth chapter of 

Apostolic Damascene on the orthodox faith ; (34) and what, if possible, 

'is still more conclusive, he will appeal to the uniform practice 

of Christians, as handed down by the Apostles and faithfully 

Scripture. P reserve d m tne Church of God. (35) But what argument 
more convincing, than that which is supplied by the admirable 
praises given in scripture to the saints of God ! If the inspired 
Volume celebrates the praises of particular saints, why ques- 
tion for a moment the propriety of paying them the same tri- 

The saints b u t e f praise and veneration? (36) Another claim which the 

assist us by . x . ' . 

their pray- saints have to be honored and invoked is, that they earnestly 
importune God for our salvation, and obtain for us by their in- 
tercession many favours and blessings. If there is joy in hea- 
ven for the conversion of one sinner, (37) can the citizens of 
heaven be indifferent to his conversion, or neglect to assist 
him by their prayers ? When their interposition is solicited 
by the penitent, will they not rather implore the pardon of his 

Objection. s ^ ns ^ an( j tb. e grace of his conversion ? Should it be said that 
their patronage is unnecessary, because God hears our prayers 
without the intervention of a mediator, the objection is at once 

Answer. met by the observation of S. Augustine : " There are many 
(l things," says he, " which God does not grant without a medi- 
" ator and intercessor :" (38) an observation the justness of 
which is confirmed by two illustrious examples — Abimelech 
and the friends of Job were pardoned but through the prayers 
of Abraham and of Job. (39) Should it be alleged, that to re- 
cur to the patronage and intercession of the saints argues want 
or weakness of faith, the answer of the Centurion refutes the 
allegation : his faith was highly eulogised by our Lord himself ; 

(34) Lib. 4. deorth. fid. c. 16. 

(35) Dionys. c. 7. Hier. Eccles. Iren. 1. 5. contra hseres. c. 19. Athan. serm. 
in Evangel, de sancta Deip. Euseb. 1. 13. prspar. Evang. c. 7. Cornel, pap. 
epist. 1. Hilar, in Ps. 126. Ambr. in lib. de viduis. 

(36) Eccl. xliv. xlv. xlvi. xlvii. xlviii. xlix. 1. Hebr. xi. 
(31) Luke, xv. 7. 10. 

(38) Aug. qusest. 149. super Exod. serm. 2. & 4. de S. Steph. 

(39) Gen. xx. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 331 

and yet he sent to the redeemer " the Ancients of the Jews," 
to intercede with him to heal his servant. (40) 

True, there is but one Mediator, Christ the Lord, who alone Objection, 
has reconciled us through his blood, (41) and who, having ac- 
complished our redemption, and having once entered into the 
Holy of Holies, ceases not to intercede for us; (42) but it by Answer, 
no means follows, that it is therefore unlawful to have recourse 
to the intercession of the saints. If, because we have one me- 
diator Christ Jesus, it were unlawful to ask the intercession of 
the saints, the Apostle would not have recommended himself 
with so much earnestness to the prayers of his brethren on 
earth. (43) In his capacity as Mediator, the prayers of the liv- 
ing would derogate from the glory and dignity of Christ not 
less than the intercession of the saints in heaven. 

But what incredulity so obstinate but must yield to the evi- The invo- 
dence in support of the honor and invocation of the saints, sa i n t s P ro- 
which the wonders wrought at their tombs flash upon the mind ? ^ a ^{ e g he 
The blind see, the lame walk, the paralysed are invigorated, wrought at 
the dead raised to life, and evil demons are expelled from the 
bodies of men ! These are authentic facts, attested not, as 
frequently happens, by very grave persons who have heard 
them from others ; they are facts which rest on the ocular at- 
testation of witnesses, whose veracity is beyond all question, 
of an Ambrose, (44) and an Augustine. (45) But why multi- & confirm- 
ply proofs on this head ? If the clothes, the kerchiefs, (46) tmdcy of 
and even the very shadows of the saints, whilst yet on earth, relics " 
banished disease and restored health and vigor, who will have 
the hardihood to deny that God can still work the same won- 
ders by the holy ashes, the bones, and other relics of the saints 
who are in glory ? Of this we have a proof in the resuscitation 
of the dead body which was let down into the grave of Eliseus, 
and which, on touching the body of the prophet, was instantly 
restored to life. (47 ) 

(40) Matth. viii. 5. Luke, vii. 3. (41)1 Tim. ii. 5. 

(42) Heb. ix. 12. & vii. 25. (43) Rom. xv. 30. Heb. xiii. IS. 

(44 J Ambr. epist. 85. & serm. 95. 

(45) Aug. de civit. Dei, lib. 22. c. S. & epist. 137. 

(46) Acts, v. xix. 12 & 5. 15. (47) 4 Kings, xiii. 21. 



332 THE CATECHISM OF 

" Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, 
>' nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven 
" above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things 
" that are in the waters under the earth : thou shalt 
" not adore them nor serve them." (48) 
These Some, supposing these words to constitute a distinct precept, 

words do ' . . » 

not contain reduce the ninth and tenth commandments into one. S. Augus- 
precepL Ct tlne n0 ^ s a different opinion : considering the two last to be 
distinct, he refers these words to the first commandment; (49) 
and this division, because well known and much approved in 
the Catholic church, we willingly adopt. As a very strong 
argument in its favour, we may, however, add the propriety 
of annexing to the first commandment its sanction, the rewards 
or punishments attached to its observance or violation ; a pro- 
priety which can be preserved in the arrangement alone which 
we have chosen. 
Do not This commandment does not prohibit the arts of painting or 

prohibit sculpture: the Scriptures inform us that God himself com- 
the use of . . 

images, manded images of Cherubim, (50) and also the brazen serpent 
(51) to be made; and the conclusion, therefore, at which we 
must arrive, is that images are prohibited only in as much as 
they may be the means of transferring the worship of God to 
inanimate objects, as though the adoration offered them were 
given to so many Gods. 

Prohibit By the violation of this commandment the majesty of God is 
grievously offended in a two-fold manner : the one, by worship- 
ping idols and images as gods, or believing that they possess 
any divinity or virtue entitling them to our worship, by pray- 
ing to or reposing confidence in them, as the Gentiles did, who 
placed their hopes in idols, and whose idolatry the Scriptures 
universally reprobate : the other, by attempting to form a re- 
presentation of the Deity, as if he were visible to mortal eyes, 
or could be represented by the pencil of the painter or the chi- 
sel of the statuary. " Who," says Damascene, " can repre- 

(48) Exod. xx. 4. 

(49) Vid. Aug. super Exod. qusest. 71. and in Ps. 32. serm. 2. Sententia D. 
Aug. de praeceptorum distinctione magis placet Ecclesiae Vid. D. Thorn, i. 2. 
qurest. 100. art. 4. 

(50) Exod. xxv. 18. 3 Kings, vi. 27. (51) Num. xxi. 8, 9. 



two things. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 333 

" sent God, invisible, as he is, incorporeal, uncircumscribed by 
" limits, and incapable of being described under any figure or 
"form?" (52) This subject, however, the pastor will find 
treated more at large in the second Council of Nice. (53) 
Speaking of the Gentiles, the Apostle has these admirable 
words : " They changed the glory of the incorruptible God 
" into a likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of 
" birds, and of four-footed beasts, and of creeping things." (54) 
Hence the Israelites, when they exclaimed before the molten 
calf: " These are thy Gods, O Israel, that have brought thee 
" out of the land of Egypt," (55) are denounced as idolators ; 
" because they changed their glory into the likeness of a calf 
" that eateth grass." (56) 

When, therefore, the Almighty forbids the worship of Their . 
strange gods, with a view to the utter extinction of all idola 
try he also prohibits the formation of an image of the Deity 
from brass or other materials, as Isaias declares when he asks : 
" To whom then have you likened God, or what image will 
" you make for him ?" (57) That this is the meaning of the 
prohibitory part of the precept is proved, not only from the 
writings of the Holy Fathers who, as may be seen in the sev- 
enth General Council, give to it this interpretation ; but also 
from these words of Deuteronomy, by which Moses sought to 
withdraw the Israelites from the worship of idols : " You saw 
" not," says he, " any similitude in the day that the Lord God 
"spoke to you in Horeb, from the midst of the fire." (58) 
These words this wisest of legislators addressed to the people 
of Israel, lest, through error of any sort, they should make an 
image of the Deity, and transfer to any thing created, the ho- 
nor due to God alone. 

To represent the Persons of the Holy Trinity by certain To re P re - 
forms, under which, as we read in the Old and New Testa- thePersons 
ments, they deigned to appear, is not to be deemed contrary to nitV^nder 
religion, or the Law of God. Who so ignorant as to believe certain 
that such forms are express images of the Deity ? — forms, as prohibited. 
the pastor will teach, which only express some attribute or ac- 

(52 j Damas. 1. 4. de orthod. fid. c. 17. (53) Cone. Niceen. 2. act. 3. 

(54) Rom. i. 23. (§5) Exod. xxxii. 4. (56) Ps. cv. 20. 

(67) Isa. xl. 18. Acts, vii. 40. (58) Deut. iv. 15, 16. 



334 THE CATECHISM OF 

tion ascribed to God. Thus, Daniel describes " The Ancient 

" of Days, seated on a throne, and before him the books open- 

" ed ;" to signify his eternity and wisdom, by which he sees 

The same and judges all the thoughts and actions of men. (59) Angels, 

true with a ^ S0 ) are represented under human form and winged, to give us 

regard to to understand that they are actuated by benevolent feelings to- 

angels; J J . . 

wards us, and are always prepared to execute the ministry of 

God to man : " They are all ministering spirits, sent to minis- 

" ter for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation." 

Forms (60) That attributes of the Holy Ghost are represented un- 

present™" ^er tne f° rms °f a dove, and of tongues of fire, as we read in 

the Holy the Gospel (61) and in the Acts of the Apostles, (62) is a mat- 

' ter too well known to require lengthened exposition, 
the Saints, But to make and honor the images of our Lord, of his holy 
Redeemer an( ^ virginal mother, and of the saints, all of whom appeared 
in human form, is not only not forbidden by this commandment, 
but has always been deemed a holy practice, and the surest 
indication of a mind deeply impressed with gratitude towards 
them. This position derives confirmation from the monuments 
of the Apostolic age, the General Councils of the Church, and 
the writings of so many amongst the Fathers eminent alike for 
sanctity and learning, all of whom are of one accord upon the 
subject. But the pastor will not content himself with shewing 
the lawfulness of the use of images in churches, and of paying 
them religious respect, when this respect is referred to their 
prototypes — he will do more — he will show that the uninter- 
rupted observance of this practice up to the present time has 
been attended with great advantage to the faithful ; as may be 
seen in the work of Damascene on images, (63) and in the se- 
venth General Council, which is the second of Nice. (64) 
The lawful But as the enemy of mankind, by his wiles and deceits, 
useofima " seeks to pervert even the most holy institutions, should the 
faithful happen at all to offend in this particular, the pastor, in 
accordance with the decree of the Council of Trent, (65) will 
use every exertion in his power to correct such an abuse, and, if 
necessary, explain the decree itself to the people. He will 

(59) Dan. vii. 13. (60J Heb. i. 14. 

(61) Matth. iii. 16. Mark, i. 10. Luke, iii. 22. John, i. 32. 

(62) Acts, ii. 3. (63) Lib. 4. de fid. orthod. cap. 1 7. (64) Nic. Syn. passim. 
(65) Trid. Con. Sess. 25. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 335 

also inform the unlettered, and those who may be ignorant of 
the proper use of images, that they are intended to instruct in 
the history of the Old and New Testaments, and to revive the 
recollection of the events which they record ; that thus excited 
to the contemplation of heavenly things we may be the more 
ardently inflamed to adore and love God. He will, also, in- 
form the faithful that the images of the saints are placed in 
churches, not only to be honored, but that, also, admonished 
by their example, we may imitate their lives and emulate their 
virtues. (66) 

" I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting 



cc 



THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN TO 



" THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT HATE 

" ME, AND SHEWING MERCY UNTO THOUSANDS TO THEM THAT 

" LOVE ME, AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS."] In this COn- In tl } es ,® 

7 J m concluding 

eluding clause of the first commandment, two things occur words, two 
which demand exposition. The first is, that whilst, on ac- m and S ex^" 
count of the enormous guilt incurred by the violation of the planation. 
first commandment, and the propensity of man towards its vio- 
lation, the punishment is here properly proposed ; it is also 
appended to all the other commandments. Every law enforces 
its observance by some sanction, by rewards and punishments; 
and hence the frequent and numerous promises of God, which 
are recorded in Scripture. To omit those which we meet al- 
most in every page of the Old Testament, we read in the Gos- 
pel : " If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments ;" 
(67) and again : " He that doth the will of my Father who is 
" in heaven, he shall enter heaven ;" (68) and also : " Every 
" tree that doth not yield good fruit shall be cut down and cast 
"into the fire;" (69) " Whosoever is angry with his brother 
" shall be guilty of the judgment ;" (70) " If you will not for- 

(66) De culta& usu imaginum vid. Concil. Nicoen. 1. act. 7. Histor. tripart. 
lib. 6. c. 41. Eus. 1. 8. Hist. Eccl. c. 14. Cyril. 1. 6. contr. Jul. Aug. 1. 1. de 
consensu Evang. c. 10. vid. item, sextam Synod, can. 82. & Cone. Rom. sub. 
Greg. III. & Cone. Gentiliac. Item et aliud Rom. sub Stephano III. Vid. etiam 
lib. de Rom. Pontif. in vita Sylvestri. Item Loctant. carm. de pass. Dom. Basil 
orat. in S. Barlaham, Greg. Nyss. orat. in Theod. Prud. Hym. de S. Cas. & 
hym. de S. Hippolyt. Item apud Baron. Annal. Eccles. an. 57. num. 116. et 
deinceps. vid. iterum Aug. contra Faust. 1. 22. c. 73. 

(67) Matth. xix. 17. (68) Matth. vii. 21. (69) Matth. iii. 10. &vii. 19. 
(70) Matth. v. 23. 



336 THE CATECHISM OF 

" give men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences." 
IJ - (71) The other observation is, that this divine sanction is to 
be proposed in a very different manner to the spiritual and to 
the carnal Christian : to the spiritual who is animated by the 
Spirit of God, (72) and who yields to him a willing and cheer- 
ful obedience, it is, in some sort, glad tidings, and a strong 
proof of the divine goodness : in it he recognises the parental 
care of a most loving God, who now by rewards, again by 
punishments, almost compels his creatures to adore and wor- 
ship him. The spiritual man acknowledges the infinite good- 
ness of God in vouchsafing to issue his commands to him, and 
to make use of his service to the glory of the divine name ; 
and not only does he acknowledge the divine goodness, he 
also cherishes a strong hope that, when God commands what 
he pleases, he will also give strength to fulfil what he com- 
mands. But to the carnal man, who is not yet disenthralled 
from the spirit of servitude, and who abstains from sin more 
through fear of punishment than love of virtue, this sanction of 
the divine Law, which closes each of the commandments, is 
burdensome and severe. He is, therefore, to be supported by 
pious exhortation, and to be led, as it were, by the hand, in 
the path pointed out by the Law of God. These two classes 
of persons the pastor, therefore, will keep in view, as often as 
he has occasion to explain any of the commandments. 
They also The carnal and spiritual are, however, to be excited by two 
tw^ar" - considerations, which are contained in this concluding clause, 
ments for and are well calculated to enforce obedience to the divine Law. 
vance of The one is, that when God is called " The Strong," the force 
the Law. f t h at appellation requires to be fully expounded to the 
faithful ; because, unappalled by the terrors of the divine me- 
naces, the flesh frequently indulges in the delusive expectation 
of escaping, in a variety of ways, the wrath of God and his 
menaced judgments. But, when deeply impressed with the 
awful conviction that God is " The Strong," the sinner will 
exclaim with David : " Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or 
" whither shall I flee from thy face ?" (73) The flesh, also, dis- 
trusting the promises of God, sometimes magnifies the power 

(71) Matth. vi. 15. (72) Rom. viii. 14. (73) Ps. cxxxviii. 7. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 337 

of the enemy to such an extent, as to believe itself unable to 
withstand his assaults ; whilst on the contrary, a firm and un- 
shaken faith, which relies confidently on the strength and pow- 
er of God, animates and confirms the hopes of man : it exclaims 
with the Psalmist: " The Lord is my light and my salvation; 
"whom shall I fear?" (74) 

The second consideration is the jealousy of God.— Man is n. 
sometimes tempted to think, that God, indifferent whether we 
contemn or observe his Law, takes no concern in human af- 
fairs, an error which is the source of the greatest disorders ; 
but when we believe that God is a jealous God, the reflection 
tends powerfully to restrain us within the limits of our duty to- 
wards him. The jealousy attributed to God does not, howev- 
er, imply agitation of mind : it is that divine love and charity 
by which God will suffer no human creature to resist his so- 
vereign will with impunity, and which "destroys all those 
" who are disloyal to him." (75) The jealousy of God there- 
fore is the most impartial justice, the calmness of which is un- 
disturbed by the least commotion, a justice which repudiates 
as an adulteress the soul which is corrupted by erroneous 
opinions and criminal passions ; and in this jealousy of God, 
evincing as it does his boundless and incomprehensible good- 
ness towards us, we recognise at once a source of pure and 
unmixed pleasure. It declares that the soul is his spouse, and 
what stronger tie of affection, or closer bond of union can bind 
him to us ? God, therefore, when, frequently comparing him- 
self to a spouse or husband, he calls himself a jealous God, de- 
monstrates the excess of his love towards us. 

The pastor, therefore will here exhort the faithful, that they Zeal in the 

service of* 
should be so warmly interested in promoting the worship and God. 

honor of God, as to be said with more propriety to be jealous of, 

rather than to love him ; imitating the example of Elias, who 

says of himself : " With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord 

" God of Hosts ;" (76) or rather of Jesus Christ himself, who 

says : " The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up." (77) 

The pastor should also set forth the terrors denounced in The Law 

(74) Ps. xxvi. 1. (75) Ps. Ixxii. 27. 

(76) 3 Kings, xix. 10. (77j Ps. lxviii. 10. John, ii. 17. 

43 



338 THE CATECHISM OF 

not to be the menaces of God's judgments — menaces which declare that 
with im- he will not suffer sinners to run their iniquitous career with 
pumty. impunity ; but will chastise them with the fondness of a parent, 
or punish them with the rigour of a judge ; and which, on an- 
other occasion, are thus expressed by Moses : " Thou shalt 
"know that the Lord thy God is a strong and faithful God, 
" keeping his covenant and mercy to them that love him, and 
" to them that keep his commandments, unto a thousand gene- 
" rations ; and repaying forthwith them that hate him, so as to 
" destroy them without further delay, immediately rendering 
" to them what they deserve." (78) " You will not," says 
Josue, " be able to serve the Lord ; for he is a holy God, and 
" mighty and jealous, and will not forgive your wickedness 
" and sins. If you leave the Lord and serve strange gods, he 
Note. " will turn and will afflict you, and will destroy you." (79) The 
faithful are also to be taught, that the punishments here threat- 
ened await the third and fourth generation of the impious and 
wicked ; not that the children are always visited with the chas- 
tisements due to the delinquency of their parents, but that, al- 
though they and their children may go unpunished, their poste- 
rity shall not all escape the wrath and vengeance of the Al- 
mighty. Of this we have an illustration in the life of king Jo- 
sias : God had spared him for his singular piety, and allow- 
ed him to be gathered to the tomb of his fathers in peace, that 
his eyes might not behold the evils of the times that were to 
befall Judah and Jerusalem, on account of the wickedness of 
his father Manasseh ; yet, after his decease, the divine ven- 
geance so overtook his posterity, that even the children of Jo- 
sias were not spared. (80) 
An appa- The words of this commandment may perhaps seem to be at 
rent con- variance with the sentence pronounced by the prophet: " The 
reconciled. " soul that sins shall die ;" (81) but the authority of S. Grego- 
ry, supported by the concurrent testimony of all the ancient 
fathers, satisfactorily reconciles this apparent contradiction : 
" Whoever," says he, " follows the bad example of a wicked 
" father is also bound by his sins ; but he, who does not follow 

(78) Deut. vii. 9, 10. (79) Josue, xxiv. 19, 20. 

(SO) 2 Par. 36. iii. 6. 4 Kings, xxii. 20. (81) Ezech. xviii. 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 339 

" the example of a wicked father, shall not at all suffer for the 
" sins of the father. Hence it follows that a wicked son, who 
" dreads not to superadd his own malice to the vices of his fa- 
" ther, by which he knows the divine wrath to have been ex- 
" cited, is burdened not only with his own additional sins, but 
" also with those of his wicked father — It is just that he who 
" dreads not to walk in the footsteps of a wicked father, in 
" presence of a rigorous judge, should be subjected in the pre- 
" sent life to the punishment invoked by the crimes of his wick- 
" ed parent." (82) 

That the goodness and mercy of God far exceed his justice The mercy 
is another observation, which the pastor will not fail to make ceeds his 
to the faithful : he is angry to the third and fourth generation ; Jus lce ' 
but he bestows his mercy on thousands. 

The words : " Of them that hate me" display the grievous- J h ® J e ick " 
ness of sin : what more wicked ? what more detestable than to God. 
hate God, the supreme goodness and sovereign truth ? This, 
however, is the crime of all sinners ; for as he who observes The good 
the commandments of God, loves God, (83) so he who despi- gnced by 
ses his Law, and violates his commandments, is justly said to love in the 
hate God. The concluding words : " And them that love me," of his Law. 
point out the manner and motive of observing the Law of God : 
those who observe the divine Law should be influenced in its 
observance by the same love and charity which they bear to 
God ; a principle which applies with equal force and truth to 
the exposition and observance of all the other command- 
ments. 

(82) Extat locus Greg. lib. 15. moral, c. 31. Vid. Aug. epist. 75. D. Thorn. 
1. 2. q. 87. art. 8. (83) John, xiv. 21. 



340 THE CATECHISM OF 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



" THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD 

"IN VAIN."(1) 

This com- This precept is necessarily comprised in the former, which 
mandment com mands us to worship God in piety and holiness : He who 

why dis- r sr j 

tinct from is to be honored must also be spoken of with reverence and 
1 e st ' must forbid the contrary, according to these words of Malachy : 
" The son honoreth the Father, and the servant his master : 
" if then I be a Father, where is my honor ?" (2) Yet, on ac- 
count of the importance of the obligation which it imposes, 
God would make this law which commands his name to be ho- 
nored, a distinct precept ; and this he does in the clearest and 
simplest terms. This observation must have much influence in 
convincing the pastor, that on this point it is not enough to 
speak in general terms ; that its importance is such as to re- 
quire to be dwelt upon at considerable length, and to be ex- 
plained to the faithful in all its bearings with distinctness, clear- 
ness, and accuracy. (3) 
Demands This assiduity on the part of the pastor cannot be deemed 
assiduous superfluous : there are not wanting those who are so blinded by 
' the darkness of error as not to dread to blaspheme his name, 
whom the angels glorify; and who are not deterred by the di- 
vine commandment from shamefully and daringly outraging his 
divine majesty, every day, or rather every hour and moment 
of the day. Who is ignorant that every assertion is accompa- 
nied with an oath ? that every conversation teems with curses 
and imprecations ? To such lengths has this impiety been car- 
ried, that one scarcely buys, or sells, or transacts ordinary bu- 
siness of any sort, without interposing the solemn pledge of an 
oath, and, even in matters the most unimportant and trivial, 

(1) Exod. xx. 7. (2) Malach. i. 6. 

(3) De hoc prcecepto vid. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 122. art. 3. item & 1. 2. q. 100. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 34 1 

thousands of times rashly appealing to the most holy name of 
God ! It therefore becomes more imperative on the pastor, 
not to neglect, carefully and frequently, to admonish the faith- 
ful of the grievousness and horror of this detestable crime. 

But in exposition of this commandment, the pastor will show, Contains a 

. . . . negative 

that, besides a negative, it also contains a positive precept and a po- 
commanding the performance of a duty, and will give to each ^ e pre " 
a separate exposition. — In the first place, to facilitate the ex- 
planation of these matters, it is necessary to know what the 
precept commands, and what it prohibits. It commands us to 
honor the name of God, and when solemnly appealing to him 
by an oath, to do so with due reverence : it prohibits us to 
contemn the divine name, to take it in vain, or swear by it 
falsely, unnecessarily, or rashly. When therefore we are Note. 
commanded to honor the name of God, the command, as the 
pastor will show, is not directed to the letters or syllables of 
Avhich that name is composed, or in any respect to the mere 
name ; but to the import of a word used to express the Omni- 
potent and Eternal Majesty of the Godhead, Trinity in unity. 
Hence we at once perceive the superstition of those amongst 
the Jews w r ho, whilst they hesitated not to write, dared not to 
pronounce the name of God, as if the divine power consisted 
in the letters of which it is composed, and not in their signifi- 
cation. 

In the annunciation of the divine precept, the word " name," The com- 
although occurring in the singular number, " Thou shalt not ™^™ e "' 
" take the name of God," is not to be understood to refer to very name 
any one name in particular : it extends to every name by which Jo^ is de- 
God is generally designated. He is called by many names, S1 g nated - 
such as " the Lord," " the Almighty," " the Lord of Hosts," 
" the King of Kings," " the Strong," and by others of similar 
import, which we meet in Scripture ; all of which are entitled 
to the same veneration. 

The pastor will also teach how the name of God is to be The name 
honored. Christians, whose tongues should every day cele- ° 10W ^. 
brate the divine praises, are not to be ignorant of a matter so ored - 
important, indeed so necessary to salvation. The name of 
God may be honored in a variety of ways ; but all seem to be 



342 THE CATECHISM OF 

I. included under the following heads. His name is honored, 
when we openly and confidently confess him to be our Lord 
and our God ; and not only acknowledge but proclaim Christ 

II. to be the author of our salvation. It is also honored when we 
pay a religious attention to his Word, which announces to us 
his sovereign will; make it the subject of our daily meditation; 
and by reading or hearing it, study, according to our respec- 
tive capacities and conditions of life, to become acquainted with 

HI. its saving truths. Again, we honor and venerate the name of 
God, when from a sense of religious duty we celebrate his 
praises, and under all circumstances, whether prosperous or 
adverse, return him unbounded thanks ; saying in the language 
of the prophet : " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget 
" all he hath done for thee." (4) Amongst the Psalms of Da- 
vid we have many, in which, animated with singular,. piety to- 
wards God, the Psalmist chants in sweetest strains' the divine 
praises. We have also the admirable example of Job, who, 
when visited with the heaviest and most appalling calamities, 
never ceased, with lofty and unconquered soul, to give praise 
to God. When, therefore, we labour under affliction of mind 
or body ; when oppressed by misery and misfortune ; let us in- 
stantly direct all our thoughts, and all the powers of our souls, 
to the praises of God, saying with Job: " Blessed be the name 

IV. of the Lord." (5) The name of God is not less honored when 
we confidently invoke his assistance, either to relieve us from 
our afflictions, or to give us constancy and strength to endure 
them with fortitude. This is in accordance with his own wish- 
es : " Call upon me," says he, " in the day of trouble : I will 
" deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me ;" (6) and we have il- 
lustrious examples of such supplications in the sixteenth, forty- 
third, and one hundred and eighteenth Psalms, and also in ma- 

V. ny other parts of Scripture. — Finally, we honor the name of 
God, when we solemnly call upon him to witness the truth of 
what we assert ; and this solemn appeal differs much from 
the means of honoring the divine name already enumera- 
ted. These means are in their own nature so good, so desira- 
ble, that our lives, day and night, could not be more happily or 

(4; Ps. cii. 1. (5) Job, i. 21. (6) Ps. xlix. 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 343 

more holily spent than in such practices of piety : " I will 
" bless the Lord," says David, " at all times, his praise shall 
" be always in my mouth :" (7) but with regard to oaths, al. Oaths 
though in themselves lawful, they should seldom be used. The j °, be se " 
reason of this difference is, that oaths are constituted as reme- tak en. 
dies to human frailty, and a necessary means of establishing the 
truth of what we advance. As it is inexpedient to have re- 
course to medicine, unless when it becomes necessary, and as 
its frequent use is most pernicious ; so, with regard to oaths, 
we should never recur to them, unless when there is weighty 
and just cause ; and a frequent recurrence to them, far from 
being advantageous, is on the contrary highly prejudicial. 
Hence the excellent observation of S. Chrysostom : "Oaths 
" were introduced amongst men, not at the beginning of the 
" world but long after; when vice had overspread the earth ; 
" when the moral world was convulsed to its centre, and uni- 
" versal confusion reigned throughout ; when, to complete the 
"picture of human depravity, man debased the dignity of his 
"nature by prostrating himself in degrading servitude to idols : 
"then it was that God was appealed to as a witness of the 
" truth, when, considering to what a height perfidy and wick- 
" edness had risen, it was with difficulty that man could be in- 
" duced to^credit the assertion of his fellow-man." (S) 

But as in explaining this part of the commandment our chief Different 
object is, to teach the faithful the conditions necessary to ren- oaths° 
der an oath reverential and holy, it is first to be observed, L 
that to swear, whatever the form of the oath may be, is noth- 
ing else than to call God to witness: to say " God is my wit- 
" ness," and to swear by his holy name, are exactly the same. 
To swear by creatures, in order to gain credit for what we n. 
say, is an oath : to swear by the holy Gospels, by the cross, 
by the names or relics of the saints, and all such solemn attes- 
tations, are also oaths. Of themselves, it is true, such objects 
give no weight or authority to an oath : it derives its obligation 
from God, whose divine majesty shines forth in them : and 
hence to swear by the Gospel is to swear by God himself, 
whose revealed word it is. This holds equally true with re- 

(1) Ps. xxxiii. 2. (8) Ad. pop. Antioch. horn. 26 



344 THE CATECHISM OF 

gard to those who swear by the saints, who are the temples 
of God, who believed the truth of his Gospel, were faithful to 
its dictates, and diffused its doctrines amongst the remotest na- 
In - tions of the earth. This is also true of oaths uttered by way 
of execration, such as that of S. Paul : " 1 call God to witness 
"upon my soul:" (9) by this form of oath we subject our- 
selves to God as the avenger of falsehood. We do not, how- 
ever, deny that some of these forms may be used without con- 
stituting an oath ; but even in such cases it will be found use- 
ful to observe what has been said with regard to an oath, and 
to direct and regulate such forms by the same rule and stand- 
ard. 
Oaths are Oaths are of two kinds, affirmatory and promissory : an oath 
ryanTpro-i 8 affirmatory when, under its solemn sanction, we affirm any 
missory. thing, past, present, or to come ; such as the affirmation of the 
Apostle in his Epistle to the Galatians : " Behold ! before God, 
" I lie not." (10) An oath is promissory when we promise 
the certain performance of any thing ; such as that of David, 
who swore to Bethsabee his wife, by the Lord his God, that 
Solomon should be heir to his kingdom and successor to his 
throne ; (11) and this class of oaths also includes comminations. 
Conditions But although to constitute an oath it is sufficient to call God 
rath. W U to witness, yet to constitute a holy and just oath many other 
conditions are required ; and these it is the duty of the pastor 
carefully to explain. The other conditions as S. Jerome ob- 
serves, (12) are briefly enumerated in these words of the pro- 
phet Jeremiah: "Thoushalt swear: as* the Lord liveth, in 
" truth and in judgment, and in justice;" (13) words which 
briefly sum up all the conditions, which constitute the perfec- 
tion of an oath — truth, judgment, justice. 
Truth. Truth, then, holds the first place in an oath : what we swear 

must be true ; that is, he who swears must believe what he 
swears to be true^ founding his conviction not upon rash 
grounds or vain conjecture, but upon motives of undoubted cre- 
dibility. Truth is a condition not less necessary, as is obvious, 
in a promissory than in an affirmatory oath : he who promises 

(9) 2 Cor. i. 23. (10) Gal. i. 20. (1 1) 3 Kings, i. I 7. 

(12) S. Hieron. in hunc locum. (13) Jerem. iv. 2. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 345 

must be disposed to perform and fulfil his promise at the ap- 
pointed time. As no conscientious man will promise to do 
what he considers to be a violation of the commandments, and 
in opposition to the will of God ; so, having promised and 
sworn to do what is lawful, he will adhere with fidelity to the 
sacred and solemn engagement; unless, perhaps, change of cir- 
cumstances should so alter the complexion of the case, that he 
could not stand to his promise without incurring the displea- 
sure and enmity of God. That truth is necessary to a lawful 
oath, David also declares, when, having asked who is worthy 
to sit in the tabernacle of the Most High, he answers : " He 
" that sweareth to his neighbor, and deceiveth not." (14) 

The second condition is judgment : an oath is not to be tak- Judgment, 
en rashly and inconsiderately, but after mature deliberation 
and calm reflection. When about to take an oath, therefore, 
we should first consider whether it be or be not necessary, 
and whether the case, if well weighed in all its circumstances, 
be of sufficient importance to demand an oath. Many other 
circumstances of time, place, &c. are also to be taken into 
consideration ; and in taking an oath we should never be influ- 
enced by love or hatred or any other passion, but by the na- 
ture and necessity of the case. Without this calm and dispas- 
sionate consideration, an oath must be rash and hasty ; and of 
this character are the irreligious affirmations of those, who, on 
the most unimportant and trifling occasions, swear from the 
influence of bad habit alone. This criminal abuse is but too 
prevalent amongst buyers and sellers, of whom the latter, to 
sell at the highest price, the former to purchase at the cheap- 
est rate, make no scruple to strengthen with an oath, their 
praise or dispraise of the goods in question. Judgment and 
prudence therefore are necessary, and hence Pope Gelasius, 
a pontiff of eminent piety, decreed that an oath should not be 
administered to children before their fourteenth year, because 
before that period their tender age is incompetent to perceive 
so acutely, and to balance so accurately, the nice distinctions 
of things. 

The third and last condition of an oath is justice ; a condi- justice. 

(14) Ps. xiv. 4. 

44 



346 THE CATECHISM OF 

tion which in promissory oaths demands particular attention. 
Hence, if a person swear to do what is unjust or unlawful, he 
sins by taking the oath, and adds sin to sin by executing his 
promise. Of this the Gospel supplies an example. Herod 
bound himself by oath to grant the request of Herodias, as a 
reward for the pleasure which she afforded him by dancing; 
she demanded the head of John the baptist ; and Herod crimi- 
nally adhered to the rash oath which he had sworn. (15) Such 
was also the oath taken by the Jews, who, as we read in the 
Acts of the Apostles, bound themselves by an oath not to eat, 
until they had shed the blood of Paul. (16) 
An oath An oath therefore accompanied, and guarded as it were by 
n^edw^u! these conditions, is no doubt lawful, a position which is easily 
these con- an d satisfactorily established. The law of God, the purity 

ditions, 

lawful. and sanctity of which will not be questioned, (17) not only 
permits but commands such an oath to be taken : " Thou shalt 
*t fear the Lord thy God," says Moses, " and shalt serve him 
II. " only, and thou shalt swear by his name :" (18) " All they" 
HI. says David, " shall be praised that swear by him." (19) The 
inspired Volume also informs us, that the Apostles, whose 
bright example it cannot be unlawful for Christians to follow, 
sometimes made use of oaths : they are recorded in the Epistles 

IV . of S. Paul. (20) Even the angels have sometimes sworn : 
" The angel," says S. John in his Apocalypse, " swore by him 

V. " who lives for ever." (21) In fine, God himself, the Lord of 
angels, has sworn, and, as we read in many passages of the 
Old Testament, has confirmed his promises with an oath. This 
he did to Abraham and to David ; (22) and of the oath sworn 
by the Almighty David says : " The Lord hath sworn, and he 
"will not repent: thou art a priest for ever according to the 
" order of Melchisedech." (23) 

VI. To him who considers the matter attentively and in all its 
bearings, its origin and its end, it can be no difficult matter to 
explain the reasons why the taking of an oath is not only law- 
ful but even laudable. An oath has its origin in faith, by which 

(15) Matth. xiv. 7. (16; Acts, xxiii. 12. (17) Ps. xviii. 8. 

(18) Deut. vi. 13. (19j Ps. Ixii. 12. 

(20) 2 Cor. i. 23. Philem. i. 8. 1 Thess. ii. 10. (21) Apoc. x. 6. 

(22) Heb. vi. 17. Gen. zsi. 16. Exod- xxxiii. 1. (23) Ps. cix. 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 347 

we believe God to be the author of all truth, who cannot de- 
ceive or be deceived, " to whose eyes all things are naked 
" and open," (24) who, in fine, superintends in an admirable 
manner all human affairs, whose providence governs the world : 
imbued with this faith we appeal to God as a witness of the 
truth, to whom it were- wicked and impious not to yield impli- 
cit belief. With regard to the end of an oath, its scope and 
intent is to establish the justice and innocence of man, and to 
terminate disputes and contests: this is the doctrine of S. Paul 
in his Epistle to the Hebrews. (25) Nor does this doctrine at Objection, 
all clash with these words of the Redeemer, recorded in S. 
Matthew : " You have heard that it was said of old : thou shalt 
" not commit perjury, but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the 
" Lord : but I say to you not to swear at all ; neither by hea- 
" ven, because it is the throne of God ; neither by the earth, 
" because it is the footstool of his feet ; neither by Jerusalem, 
" because it is the city of the great king : neither shalt thou 
" swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair 
" white or black. Let your talk be yea, yea ; no, no ; and that 

" which is over and above these is of evil." (26) It cannot be ^ solu " 

\ ' tion. 

asserted that these words condemn oaths universally and un- 
der all circumstances : we have already seen that the Apostles 
and even our Lord himself swore frequently : the object of the 
Redeemer was rather to reprove the perverse opinion of the 
Jews, which taught them to think that to justify the taking of 
an oath, its truth alone was sufficient. Hence even on the 
most trivial occasions they did not hesitate to make frequent 
use of oaths, and to exact them from others. This practice the 
Redeemer condemns and reprobates ; teaching that an oath is 
never to be taken, unless necessity require so solemn a pledge. 
Oaths have been instituted as remedies for human frailty ; and 
bespeaking, as it does, the inconstancy of him who takes, or 
the contumacy of him who exacts it, and who refuses to yield 
his assent without it, an oath has its source in the corruption of 
our nature, and can therefore be justified by necessity alone. 

But to explain the words of the Redeemer — When our Lord Explana- 

(24) Heb. iv. 13. (25) Heb. vi. 16. (26) Matth. v. 34, 35, 36, 37. 



348 THE CATECHISM OF 

tion of the says : " Let your speech be yea, yea: no, no," (27) he evident- 
the Re- ly forbids the habit of swearing in familiar conversation and on 
deemer. trivial matters : he therefore admonishes us particularly against 
an habitual propensity to swearing; and this admonition the pas- 
tor will impress deeply and repeatedly on the minds of the 
faithful. That countless evils grow out of the unrestrained ha- 
bit of swearing is a melancholy truth supported by the evi- 
dence of Scripture, and the testimony of the Holy Fathers. 
Thus we read in Ecclesiasticus : " Let not thy mouth be ac- 
" customed to swearing ; for in it there are many falls ;" (28) 
and again : " A man that sweareth much shall be filled with 
" iniquity, and a scourge shall not depart from his house." (29) 
In the works of S. Basil, and also in the treatise of S. Augus- 
tine against lying, the pastor will find abundant matter on this 
subject. (30) 
Negative Having hitherto explained the positive, we now come to 
command- explain the negative part of the commandment. By it we are 
ment. forbidden to take the name of God in vain ; and he who, not 
guided by prudent deliberation, but hurried on by rashness, 
dares to take an oath, is guilty of a grievous sin. This the ve- 
ry words of the commandment declare : " Thou shalt not take 
" the name of the Lord thy God in vain." In these words the 
Almighty would seem to assign the reason why a rash oath is 
so grievous a crime : — it derogates from the Majesty of him 
whom we profess to recognise as our Lord and our God. This 
commandment, therefore, forbids to swear falsely, because he 
who does not hesitate to appeal to God to witness falsehood, 
offers a grievous injury to the divine Majesty, charging him 
either with ignorance, as though the truth could be concealed 
from his all-seeing eye, or with injustice and depravity, as 
though the Eternal Truth could bear testimony to falsehood. 
How vio- Amongst false swearers are to be numbered not only those 
I. & II. vvno affirm as true what they know to be false, but also those 
who swear to what is really true, believing it to be false. (31) 
The essence of a lie consists in speaking contrary to one's 
conviction ; and such persons, therefore, as swear to what they 

(27) Matth. v. 37. (28) Eccl. xxiii. 9. (29) Eccl. xxiii. 12. 

(30) Basil, in Psal. 14. ad haec verba: qui jurat proximo suo, & Aug. lib. de 
mendac. c. 14. Vid. 12. q. 2. c. primum est. (31) Lev. xix. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 349 

believe to be false, are evidently guilty of a lie, and therefore 
of perjury. On the same principle, he who swears to that IIL 
which he thinks to be true, but which, although he swears ac- 
cording to his conviction, is really false, also incurs the guilt 
of perjury ; unless he has used moral diligence to arrive at the 
truth. He who binds himself by oath to the performance of IV - 
anything, not intending to fulfil his promise, or having had the 
intention neglects its performance, is also guilty of perjury ; 
and this equally applies to those who, having bound themselves Note - 
to God by vow, neglect its fulfilment. 

This commandment is also violated, if justice, which is one v - 
of the three conditions of an oathj be wanting; and hence he 
who swears to commit a mortal sin, to perpetrate murder, for 
instance, violates this commandment, although he should have 
really intended to commit the crime, and his oath should have 
possessed what we before pointed out as a necessary condi- 
tion of every oath, that is, truth. To these are to be added VI. 
oaths sworn through a sort of contempt ; such as an oath not to 
observe the Evangelical counsels of celibacy and poverty. 
None, it is true, are obliged to embrace these counsels, but by 
swearing to their non-observance, they are contemned and vio- 
lated. This commandment is also sinned against, and the se- VII. 
cond condition of an oath, which is "judgment," is violated 
by swearing on slight grounds and mere conjecture, although 
what is sworn be true, and believed to be so by him who 
swears ; because, notwithstanding its truth, it still involves a 
sort of falsehood; .for he who swears with such indifference 
exposes himself to extreme danger of perjury. To swear by vill. 
false gods is likewise to swear falsely : what more opposed to 
truth than to appeal to lying and false deities as to the 
true God? (32) 

But as the Scripture, when it prohibits perjury, adds: Ix - 
" Thou shalt not prophane the name of thy God," (33) it. there- 
fore prohibits all irreverence not only to his name, but also to 
those things to which, in accordance with this commandment, 
reverence is due ; such as the Word of God, the majesty of 
which has been recognised and revered not only by the pious, 

(32) Vid. Aug. epist. 54. (33) Lev. xix. 12. 



350 THE CATECHISM OF 

but also sometimes by the impious, as we read in Judges of 
Eglon, king of the Moabites. (34) But he who, to support 
heresy and impiety, wrests the Sacred Scriptures from their 
genuine and true meaning, is guilty of the most flagrant irrev- 
erence towards the Divine Word ; and of this we are admonish- 
ed by these words of the prince of the Apostles : " There are 
" some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and 
" unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their 

X. " own destruction." (35) It is also a shameful irreverence of 
the Scripture, to pervert the words and sentences which it 
contains, and which should be mentioned with due reverence, 
to some prophane purpose, such as scurrility, fable, vanity, 
flattery, detraction, superstition, satire, and the like. Such 
prophanation of the Divine Word the Council of Trent com- 

XI. mands to be severely reprehended. (36) In the the next place, 
as they who under severe affliction implore the assistance of 
God, so they, who invoke not his aid, deny him due honor ; 
and these David rebukes when he says : " They have not call- 
" ed upon the Lord, they trembled for fear where there was no 

XII. " fear." (37) Still more enormous is the guilt of those who, 
with impure and impious lips, dare to curse or blaspheme the 
holy name of God, that name which is to be blessed and prais- 
ed above measure by all his creatures, or even the names of 
the Saints who reign with him in glory. Shuddering, as it 
were, at its very mention, the Sacred Scriptures sometimes 
express the crime of which they are guilty, by the word 
" benediction." (38) 

Sanction As, however, the dread of punishment has often a powerful 
cept.' S Pre " e ff ect m checking the licentiousness of crime, the pastor, in 
order the more effectually to excite, and the more easily to in- 
duce to an observance of this commandment, will diligently ex- 
plain the remaining words, which are, as it were, its appendix, 
and which run thus : " For the Lord will not hold him 
" guiltless that shall take the name of the lord his 
« God in vain." (39) 
Its wisdom In the first place the pastor will teach, that in the annexation 

(34) Judges, iii. 20- (35) Pet. iii. 16. (36) Sess. 4. in fine. 

(31) Ps. xiii. 5. &lii. 26. (38) 3 Kings, xxi. 13. Job, i. 11. and ii. 9. 
(39) Exod. xx. 7. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 351 

of threats to the violation of this commandment reason discov- tobedeve- 
ers the wisest ends : it demonstrates at once the grievousness the pastor. 
of sin and the goodness displayed in our regard by a beneficent L 
God, who, far from desiring the death of the sinner, deters by 
these salutary threats from incurring his severity, doubtless in 
order that we may experience his kindness rather than his an- 
ger. The pastor will urge this consideration, a consideration 
to be dwelt on with indefatigable earnestness, in order that the 
faithful may be made sensible of the grievousness of the crime, 
may detest it still more, and may employ increased care and 
caution to avoid its commission. 

He will also observe how prone Christians are to this sin, n. 
since God has not only issued a command for its prevention, 
but has also enforced this command by so severe a sanction. 
The advantages to be derived from this consideration are in- 
deed incredible : as nothing is more injurious than a listless se- 
curity, so the knowledge of our own weakness is attended with 
the most salutary consequences. He will next observe that III. 
the punishment, which awaits the violation of this command- 
ment, is not fixed and determinate : the threat is general : it de- 
clares that he who is guilty of the violation shall not escape un- 
punished. The chastisements, therefore, with which we are 
every day visited, should impress upon our minds the enormity 
of this crime. They admonish us, in language the most intelli- 
gible, that the violation of this commandment cannot pass with 
impunity ; that the heaviest punishments will overtake him who 
prophanes the name of God ; a consideration which it is hoped 
must excite to future vigilance. 

Deterred therefore by a holy and salutary dread, the faithful Practical 
should use every exertion to avoid the violation of this com- conclusion 
mandment : if " for every idle word that men shall speak, they 
" shall render an account on the day of judgment ;" (40) how 
severe the account which they shall have to render, whose crime 
involves the awful guilt of contemning the name of the Eternal 
God! 

(40) Matth. xii. 36. 



352 THE CATECHISM OF 



THE THIRD COMMANDxMENT. 



" REMEMBER THAT THOU KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH DAY. SIX 
"DAYS SHALT THOU LABOUR AND SHALT DO ALL THY 
" WORKS ; BUT ON THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH OF 
"THE LORD THY god: THOU SHALT DO NO WORK ON IT, 

" thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man- 
" servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor 
"the stranger that is within thy gates: for in 
"six days the lord made heaven and earth, and 
" the sea, and all things that are in them, and 
" rested on the seventh day : therefore the lord 
" blessed the seventh day : and sanctified it." (1) 

What this This commandment, as is required by the natural order, 

command- prescribes the external worship which is due to God, and is, as 

scribes! it were, a consectary of the preceding commandment. If we 

sincerely and devoutly yield internal worship to God, guided 

by the faith and hope we have in him, we cannot but honor 

him with external worship and thanksgiving: (2) this duty, 

we cannot easily discharge whilst occupied in worldly affairs ; 

and hence the necessity of appointing a fixed time for its per- 

Import- formance. As, therefore, this commandment, if duly observ- 

exposfii, ed i 1S productive of much fruit, it is of the highest importance 

that the pastor use the utmost diligence in its exposition. The 

word " Remember," with which the commandment commences, 

must animate him to the zealous performance of this duty : if 

the faithful are commanded to " remember" this commandment, 

it becomes the duty of the pastor to recall it frequently to their 

recollection. 

and obser- The importance of its observance may be inferred from the 

consideration, that a faithful compliance with its injunctions 

(1) Exod. xx. 8. 

(2) Vid. Trid. decret. de ciborum dclectuet festis diebus, sess. ult. sub finem. 
Item D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 122. art. 4. item de conseciat. dist- 3. multis capitib. 



.. **- 



vance. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 353 

facilitates the observance of all the other commandments. 
Amongst the other works of piety by which the Sabbath is to 
be sanctified, the faithful are bound to ass-emble in the Church 
to hear the divine word : when they have thus learned the jus- 
tifications of the Lord, they will be prompted to the faithful 
and willing observance of his holy Law. Hence the sanctifica- 
tion of the Sabbath is very often enforced in Scripture, as may 
be seen in Exodus, (3) Leviticus, (4) Deuteronomy, (5) and in 
the prophecies of Isaias, (6) Jeremiah, (7) and Ezekiel, (8) 
all of which contain this precept which commands the obser- 
vance of the Sabbath. (9) Princes and magistrates are to be e * 
admonished and exhorted to lend the sanction and support of 
their authority to the pastors of the Church, particularly in 
upholding and extending the worship of God, and in com- 
manding obedience to the spiritual injunctions of the pastor. 

With regard to the exposition of this commandment, the *} s exposi- 
faithful are to be carefully taught in what it accords with, and whatitdif- 
in what it differs from the others, in order that they may un- t ^f [£™ 
derstand why Christians observe not the Sabbath but the command- 
Lord's day. The point of difference is evident: the other 
commandments of the Decalogue are precepts of the natural 
law, obligatory at all times and unalterable, and hence, after 
the abrogation of the Law of Moses, all the commandments 
contained in the two tables are observed by Christians, not 
however because their observance is commanded by Moses, 
but because they accord with the law of nature and are en- 
forced by its dictate : whereas this commandment, if consider- 
ed as to the time of its fulfilment, is not fixed and unalterable, 
but is susceptible of change, and belongs not to the moral but 
ceremonial Law. Neither is it a principle of the natural law : 
we are not instructed by the natural law to worship God on 
the Sabbath, rather than on any other day. The Sabbath, 
was kept holy from the time of the liberation of the people of 
Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh : the obligation was to 

(3) Exod. xvi. 20, 31. (4) Lev. xvi. 19, 23, 26. (5) Deut. v. 

(6) Isa. lvi. 58, 66. (7) Jarem. 17. (8) Ezek. xx. 22, 23, 46. 

(9) De prced. verb. Dei, vid. Trid. sess. 5. c. 2. vide & singulare hac de re 
libellum S. Caroli Borrom in actis Eccles. Mediol. vide etiarn acta eccles. Bo- 
noniens. 

45 



|#Tj! ijr* -«fc; 



354 THE CATECHISM OF 

cease with the abrogation of the Jewish worship, of which it 
formed a part ; and it therefore was no longer obligatory after 
the death of Christ. Having been, as it were, images which 
shadowed the light and the truth, these ceremonies were to 
disappear at the coming of that light and truth, which is Christ 
Jesus. Hence S. Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians, when 
reproving the observers of the Mosaic rites says : " you ob- 
" serve days and months and times and years ; I am afraid of 
" you lest perhaps I have laboured in vain amongst you ;" (10) 
sentiments which are also to be found in his Epistle to the 
Colossians. (11) On the difference between this and the other 
commandments these observations will suffice. 
In what it As to their accordance, it consists not in rites and ceremo- 
vfithThem. n i es > DU t in as much as this commandment, in common with the 
others, expresses a moral obligation, founded on the law of na- 
ture. The worship of God and the practice of religion, which 
it comprises, have the natural law for their basis : the unbidden 
impulse of nature prompts us to give some time to the worship 
of God ; and this is a truth demonstrated by the unanimous con- 
sent of all nations who, accordingly, consecrated festivals to 
An illus- the public solemnities of religion. As nature requires some 
time to be given to necessary relaxation, to sleep, and to the re- 
pose and refreshment of the body ; so she also requires, that 
some time be devoted to the mind, to refresh and invigorate 
its energies by heavenly contemplation. Hence the necessity 
of consecrating some time to the worship of the Deity and to 
the practice of religion, duties which, doubtless, form part of 
The Jew- the moral law. The Apostles therefore resolved to consecrate 

when b and hthe first da y of the week to the divine worship, and called it 

by whom « the Lord's day :" S. John in his Apocalypse makes mention 

the 'Lord's of " the Lord's day ;" (12) and the Apostle commands collec- 

day *' tions to be made " on the first day of the week," (13) that is, 

according to the interpretation of S. Chrysostom, on the Lord's 

day ; and thus we are given to understand that even then the 

Lord's day was kept holy in the church. 

(10) Galat. iv. 10. (11) Col. ii. 16. (12) Apoc. i. 10. 

(13) Chrysost. horn. 13. in Corinth. Amb. item &. Theophylact. vid. etiam. 
Can. Apost. c. 67. Ignat. Epist. ad Magnes. Just. apol. 2. Tertul. in apol. c. 
16. & de Coron. milit. c. 3. & de idol. c. 14. & Cyp. epist. 33. Clement. Alex, 
lib. 5. Strom, satis antefinem. Orig horn. 7. in Exod. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 355 

In order that the faithful may know what they are to do, This com- 
what to avoid, on the Lord's day, it will not be found foreign divided 
to his purpose, if the pastor, dividing the commandment into }J)£j/? ur 
four parts, explain each part with minute accuracy. In the I- 
first place, then, he will explain generally the meaning of these 
words : " Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day." 
The word " remember" is appropriately made use of at the be- 
ginning of the commandment, to signify that the sanctification 
of that particular day belonged to the ceremonial law. Of this 
it would seem to have, been necessary to admonish the people, 
for, although the law of nature commands us to give religious 
worship to God, it fixes no particular day for the performance 
of that duty. They are also to be taught, that from these II. 
words we may learn how we should employ our time during 
the week ; that we are to keep constantly in view the Lord's 
day, on which we are, as it were, to render an account to God 
for the manner in which we have spent the week ; and that 
therefore our occupations and conduct should be such as not to 
be unacceptable in the sight of God, or, as it is written, be to us 
"an occasion of grief, and a scruple of heart." (14) Finally, m. 
we are taught, and the instruction demands our serious atten- 
tion, that there are but too many circumstances which may 
lead to a forgetfulness of this commandment, such as the evil 
example of others who neglect its observance, and an inordi- 
nate love of amusements, which frequently withdraw from the 
holy and religious observance of the Lord's day. 

We now come to the meaning of the word " Sabbath." Sab- Meaning 

, ,...,, . , of the word 

bath is a Hebrew word: it signifies cessation: to keep the 'Sabbath.' 
Sabbath, therefore, means to cease from labour; and in this 
sense the seventh day was called the " Sabbath," (it is so call- 
ed by God in Exodus) because, having finished the creation of 
the world, God rested from all the work which he had done. 
(1 5) Not only the seventh day, but, in honor of that day, the 
entire week was subsequently called " the Sabbath ;" and in 
this meaning of the word, the Pharisee says in S. Luke: "I 
" fast twice in a Sabbath." (16) Thus much will suffice with 
regard to the signification of the word " Sabbath." 

(14) 1 Kings, xxv. 31. (15) Gen. ii. 3. Exod. xx. 21. Deut. v. 12. 

(16) Luke, xviii. 12. 



356 THE CATECHISM OF 

Sanctifica- In the words of the commandment, the sanctification of the 
Sabbath. Sabbath is a cessation from bodily labour and worldly busi- 
ness, as is clear from the following words : " Thou shalt do 
" no work on it." This alone, however, does not comprise 
the meaning of the commandment: if it did, it would have 
been sufficient to say in Deuteronomy, " observe the day of 
"the Sabbath ;" (17) but it is added, " and sanctify it ;" and 
these additional words prove that the Sabbath is a day sacred to 
religion, set apart for works of piety and exercises of devotion. 
The Sabbath, therefore, we sanctify by devoting it to duties of 
piety and religion ; and this is evidently the Sabbath, which 
Isaias, calls "delightful;" (18) when thus spent, it is the de- 
light of God and of his faithful servants. If then to this reli- 
gious and holy observance of the Sabbath we add works of 
mercy, the rewards proposed to our piety in the same chap- 
Thetme ter are numerous and most important. (19) The true and 
f ^J p^e- proper meaning, therefore, of this commandment tends to this, 
cept. t h at we take special care to set apart some fixed time, when, 
disengaged from bodily labour, and undisturbed by worldly 
cares, we may devote our whole being, soul and body, to the 
religious worship of God. 
Second The other part of the precept declares that the seventh day 

command- was consecrated by Almighty God to his worship : " Six days," 
ment: its says he, "shalt thou labour, and do all thy works;" but on 
1 ' g ' " the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ;" that is 
to say, the Sabbath is consecrated to the Lord, and on that 
day we are to render him the duties of religion, and to know 
The Sab- that the seventh day is a sign of his rest. The Sabbath was 
bath why consecrated to the worship of God, because it must have prov- 
the divine ed inconvenient to leave to a rude people the choice of a time 
wors ip " of worship, lest, perhaps, they may be led to imitate the idol- 
atrous rites of Egypt. The seventh day was, therefore, cho- 
sen for the worship of God, and its dedication to that end is 
Its mystic replete with mystery. Hence in Exodus, (20) and in Ezekiel 
meaning. ^^ ^ L or( j ca ]] s j t « a s jg n .» cc j g ave them," says he, 

" my Sabbaths to be a sign between me and them ; and that 

(11) Deut. v. 12. (18)Isa. Iviii. 13. (19jlsa. lviii. 6. 

(20) Exod. xxxi. 13. (21) Ezek. xx. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 357 

" they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." (22) 
It was a sign that man should dedicate and consecrate himself **• 
to God, whereas even the very day is dedicated and conse- 
crated to him : it is holy because devoted in a special manner 
to holiness and religion. It was also a sign, and as it were, a Ill- 
memorial, of the stupendous work of the creation. To the 
Jews it was also a traditional sign, reminding them that they 
had been delivered by the hand of God from the galling yoke 
of Egyptian bondage. This the Almighty himself declares in 
these words : " Remember that thou also didst serve in Egypt, 
" and the Lord thy God brought thee out from thence with a 
"strong hand and a stretched out arm. Therefore hath he 
"commanded thee that thou shouldst observe the Sabbath 
" day." 

It is also a sign of the spiritual and celestial Sabbath. The The spiri- 
spiritual Sabbath consists in a holy and mystical rest, wherein ^th ; its 
the old man, being buried with Christ, is renewed to life, and meanm g- 
studies to act in accordance with the spirit of Christian piety : 
" you were, therefore, darkness," says the Apostle, " but now 
"light in the Lord. Walk then as children of the light ; for 
" the fruit of the light is in all goodness, and justice and truth, 
" having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness." 
(23) The celestial Sabbath, as S. Cyril observes on these The celes- 
words of the Apostle, "There remaineth therefore a day of bath; its 
"rest for the people of God," (24) (25) is that life which we meanin S- 
shall enjoy with Christ, in the fruition of all good, when sin 
shall be no more, according to these words of Isaias : " No lion 
" shall be there, nor shall any mischievous beast go up by it, nor 
" be found there ; but a path and a way shall be there, and it 
" shall be called the holy way ;" (26) for the souls of the saints 
enjoy the plentitude of happiness in the vision of God. The 
pastor therefore will exhort and animate the faithful in the 
words of the Apostle : " Let us hasten therefore to enter into 
"that rest." (27) 

Besides the Sabbath, the Jews observed other festivals Other fes- 
which were instituted by the divine law, and the end and aim s^rved'by 

the Jews. 
(22) Deut. v. 15. (23) Eph. v. S. 

(24) S. Cyril. Lat. lib. 4. in Joan. c. 51. (25) Heb. iv. 9. 

(26) Isa. xxxv. 9. (27) Heb. iv. 11. 



358 THE CATECHISM OF 

of which was to awaken in the people the recollection of the 
principal favours conferred on them by the Almighty. On these 
festivals the pastor will see Leviticus, (28) Numbers, (29) and 
Deuteronomy ; (30) and on the moral objects contemplated in 
the institution of such festivals, he may also consult S. Cyril, 
(31) and S. Thomas. (32) 
The Sab- But the Church of God has in her wisdom ordained that the 
bath why celebration of the Sabbath should be transferred to " the Lord's 

changed to 

'the Lord's day :" as on that day light first shone on the world, so by the 
ay 'l. resurrection of our Lord on the same day, by whom was thrown 
open to us the gate to eternal life, we were called out of dark- 
ness into light ; and hence the Apostle would have it called 
II. " the Lord's day." We also learn from the sacred Volume 
that the first day of the week was held sacred for other rea- 
sons : on that day the work of the creation commenced, and 
on that day the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles. 
Other fes- From the very infancy of the church other days were also ap- 
tivals why pointed by the Apostles, and by their successors in after times, 

instituted :.,,.:, , . 

theirorder.to be kept holy, in order to commemorate the special gifts be- 
stowed on us Christians. Amongst these days the most con- 
spicuous are those which were instituted to honor the myste- 
ries of our redemption, and next to them, those which are ded- 
icated to the most blessed Virgin Mother, to the Apostles, Mar- 
tyrs and other Saints who reign with Christ, and in the celebra- 
tion of whose victories the divine power and goodness, which 
triumphed in them, are praised, due honor is paid to their me- 
mories, and the faithful are excited to the imitation of their vir- 
tues. 
Sloth and And as the observance of the precept is very strongly enfor- 
condemn- ce{ * m tnese worc ls : " Six days sh&lt thou labour, and shalt do 
ed: noser- " all thy works ; but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the 
to be defer- " Lord thy God ;" the pastor should therefore carefully ex- 
LorcPs da P^ a * n t * iem t0 ^ e P eo P^ e - They implicitly admonish him that 
the faithful are to be exhorted not to waste their lives in indo- 
lence and sloth, but mindful of the words of the Apostle, and in 
accordance with his command, " do their own business, and 

(28) Levit. xxiii. (29) Num. xxix. (30) Deut. vi. 

(31) Cyril, de adoratione in spiritu et verit. 1. 17. 

(32) D. Thorn. 1. 2.q. 102. art. 4. ad 10. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 359 

" work with their own hands." (33) These words also enjoin 
as a duty that " in six days we do all our works," and admon- 
ish us not to defer to the Sunday or holiday what should have 
been done during the other days of the week, and what if de- 
ferred must withdraw our attention from the sanctification of 
the Sabbath. 

The third part of the commandment comes next to be ex- The third 
plained. It points out, to a certain extent, the manner in which command- 
we are to keep holy the Sabbath day, and explains particular- ment;what 
ly what is prohibited to be done on that day : " Thou shalt do 
" no work on it," says the Lord, " thou, nor thy son, nor thy 
" daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy 
" beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates." These words l - 
teach us, in the first place, to avoid whatever may interfere 
with the worship of God on the Sabbath day ; and hence it is 
not difficult to perceive that all servile works are forbidden, 
not because they are improper or evil in themselves, but be- 
cause they withdraw from the worship of God, which is the 
great end of the commandment. The faithful should be still n. 
more careful not to prophane the Sabbath by sin, which not on- 
ly withdraws the mind from the contemplation of divine things, 
but entirely alienates us from the love of God. (34) But what- What it 
ever regards the celebration of divine worship, such as the per 'i # 1 
decoration of the altar or church on occasion of some festival, 
and the like, although servile works, are not prohibited ; and 
hence our Lord himself says : " The priests in the temple break 
" the Sabbath, and are without blame." (35) Neither are we n 
to suppose that this commandment forbids attention to those 
things on the Sabbath, which if neglected on that day perish 
to the proprietor. Their preservation is no violation of the 
commandment, and is expressly permitted by the sacred canons. 
There are many other things which our Lord declares lawful m - 
to be done on Sundays and holidays, and which may be seen by 
the pastor in S. Matthew and S. John. 

But to omit nothing that may interfere with the sanctifica- Ca J- tIe not 
tion of the Sabbath, cattle are mentioned in the commandment, ployed on 

(33) 1 Thess.iv. 11. 

(34) Vid. Aug. tract. 3. in Joan. & in Ps. xxxi. serm. 1. & 1. de decern chor- 
disc. 3. , (35) Matth. xii. 5. 



360 THE CATECHISM OF 

the Sab- because their use must prevent its due observance. If cattle 

bath ; and 

why. be employed on the Sabbath, human labour also becomes ne- 
cessary : they do not labour alone, but assist the labours of 
man. The prohibition of the employment of cattle is there- 
fore a consequence of the prohibition of human labour : they 
are correlative ; one supposes the other. If then God com- 
mands the exemption of cattle from labour on the Sabbath, still 
more imperative is the obligation to avoid all acts of inhumani- 
ty towards servants, or others whose labour and industry we 
employ in our service. 
Sundays& The pastor should also not omit to inform the faithful how 
how to be tne y are to sanctify Sundays and holidays; and amongst other 
sanctified. me ans he will not forget to mention the obligation of visiting 
the temple of God, and there with heartfelt piety and devo- 
tion, assisting at the celebration of the holy sacrifice of the 

II. Mass ; (36) and also the duty of approaching frequently the sa- 
craments of the Church, instituted for our sanctification and 

III. salvation, to heal our spiritual maladies. (37) Nothing can be 
more seasonable or salutary than frequent recourse to the tri- 
bunal of penance : and to this the pastor will be enabled to 
exhort the faithful by recurring to what we have already said 
in its proper place on the sacrament of penance. But not only 
will he excite his people to have recourse to the sacrament of 

IV - penance — he will also zealously exhort them again and again, 
to approach frequently the holy sacrament of the Eucharist. 

V. Sermons are also, on those days, to be heard by the faithful 
with attention and reverence — nothing is more intolerable, no- 
thing more unworthy of a Christian than to despise the words 

VI. of Christ, or hear them with indifference. (3S) Devout pray- 
y n. er and the praises of God should also frequently exercise the 

piety of the faithful on Sundays and holidays ; and an object 

of their special attention should be to attend particularly to 

VIII. catechetical instruction, in order to learn those things which 

IX. form us to a Christian life ; and to practice with assiduity these 

duties of Christian piety, viz. giving alms to the poor, visiting 

(36) Cone. Agath. c. 47. Aurel. c. S. Tribur. c. 35. Vide de cons. dist. 1. 
cap. Missas. & cum ad celebrandas, et omnes fideles. 

(37) Aug. de Eccl. dogm. c. 53. & citatur de cons. dist. 2. c. quotidie. 

(3S) Justin. Apol. 2. & ex Act. Apost. c. 20. 7. Aug. 1. 50. horn. 26. &. cit. 
1. q. 1. cap. interroga. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 361 

the sick, administering consolation to the afflicted. " Religion 
" clear and undefiled before God and the Father is this," says 
S. James, " to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribula- 
tion." (39) 

From what has been said it is easy to perceive, how this JjJJJJJf 
commandment may be violated : but the pastor will also deem this com- 
it a duty to impress on the minds of the faithful the conviction, 
that this commandment is to be observed with pious zeal and 
the greatest exactitude. To the attainment of this end it will 
materially conduce, if he make them understand and see clearly, 
how just and reasonable it is to devote certain days, exclusive- 
ly, to the worship of God, to acknowledge, adore, and vene- 
rate him from whom we have received such innumerable and 
inestimable blessings. Had God commanded us to offer him, e " 
on each day of our lives, the tribute of religious worship, would 
it not be our duty, in return, for the inestimable and infinite 
benefits which his bounty has showered on us, to endeavour to 
obey the command with promptitude and alacrity ? But now 
that the days specially consecrated to his service are but few 
in number, is it not as unreasonable as it is criminal, to neglect 
so sacred a duty, or to discharge it with reluctance ? (40) 

The pastor will next point out the importance of a faithful Im P ort " 
compliance with this precept. Those who are faithful in its observance 
observance are admitted, as it were, into the divine presence, 
to commune freely with God ; for in prayer we contemplate 
the increated majesty, and bold free converse with the Deity ; 
in hearing religious instruction, we hear the voice of God, 
which reaches us through that of his pious and zealous minis- 
ter ; and at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we adore Christ 
the Lord, present on our altars. These are amongst the spir- 
itual advantages, of which a faithful compliance with this com- 
mandment is the pure and plenteous source. But those, who II. 
altogether neglect its fulfilment, resist God and his Church : 
they are enemies of God and of his holy laws ; and the facility 

(39) James, i. 27. Sic faciebant veteres Christian!, test. Just. Apol. 2. Ter- 
tull. in Apol. & in lib. ad martyres & in lib. 2. ad uxorern prope finem. 

(40) Vid. de consecr. dist. 1. & in decret. Titul. de feriis & Cone. Matisc. 2. 
c. 1. & 37. Tribur. c. 35. Ignat. in p. ad Philip. Leon. serm. 3. de quadrag. 
Aug. serm. 151. detemp. 

46 



362 THE CATECHISM OF 

with which the commandment may be fulfilled is at once a 
proof and aggravation of their guilt. We should, it is true, 
be prepared to undergo the severest labour for sake of God ; 
but in this commandment he imposes on us no labour; he only 
commands us to disengage ourselves from worldly cares on 
those days which are to be kept holy. To refuse obedience 
to this commandment is, therefore, a proof of extreme temeri- 
ty ; and the punishments with which its infraction has been vi- 
sited should be a salutary admonition to Christians. (41 ) 
jy ote> In order, therefore, to avoid this guilt and these punishments, 
we should frequently ponder this word, " Remember," and 
place before us the important advantages, which, as we have 
alread seen, flow from the religious observance of Sundays 
and holidays, and also numerous other considerations of the 
same tendency, which the good and zealous pastor will deve- 
lope at large to his people as circumstances may require. 

(41) Num. xv. 32. & seq. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



command- 



" HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER, THAT THOU MAYEST 
" BE LONG-LIVED UPON THE LAND WHICH THE LORD THY 
"god will give THEE."(1) 

Accord- The preceding commandments, having God as their immedi- 
*1Jh°he hls ate end, take precedence in order, as well as in dignity and 
preceding importance ; but those which follow, although ultimately re- 
ferred to God as the end contemplated in the love of our 
neighbour, have for their immediate object to instruct us in the 
duty of loving our neighbour, and, therefore, deservedly hold 
the next place. Hence our Lord himself has declared, that these 
two commandments, which inculcate the love of God and of 
our neighbour, are like unto each other. (2) The advantages 

(1) Exod. xx. 12. 

(2) Matth. xxii. 39. Mark, xii. 31. Vid. Aug. in Ps. xxxii. serm. 1. item 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 363 

arising from a faithful observance of this commandment can 
scarcely be expressed in words, bringing with it, as it does, not 
only its own fruit, and that in the richest abundance and of su- 
perior excellence, but also affording a test of the sincerity of 
. our love for God : " He that loveth not his brother whom he 
"seeth," says S. John, " how can he love God whom he seeth 
not ?" (3) In like manner, if we do not honor and reverence 
our parents whom we see, how can we honor or reverence 
God, the supreme and best of parents, whom we see not ? and 
hence the obvious analogy and accordance of both command- 
ments. 

The application of this commandment is of very great lati- Extent of 
tude : besides our natural parents, there are many others whose [^ p lca " 
power, rank, usefulness, exalted functions, or office, entitle them 
to parental honor. It also lightens the labours of parents and 
superiors : amongst the duties which devolve on them, the prin- 
cipal one is to mould the lives of those who are placed under 
their care, according to the maxims of the divine law ; and the 
performance of this duty must be considerably facilitated, if it 
be universally felt, that to honor parents is an obligation, sanc- 
tioned and commanded by no less an authority than that of God 
himself. To impress the mind with this truth, it will be found 
useful to distinguish the commandments of the first from those 
of the second table. This distinction, therefore, the pastor will 
first explain, and will accordingly teach that the divine precepts 
of the Decalogue were written on two tables, one of which, in 
the opinion of the Holy Fathers, contained the three preced- 
ing, the other the remaining seven commandments of the Deca- 
logue. (4) This order of the commandments is very apposite, Note. 
for by it their nature and object are also distinguished : whate- 
ver is commanded or prohibited in Scripture by the divine law 
springs from one of two principles, the love of God or of our 
neighbour ; and in the discharge of every duty we must be ac- 
tuated by this love. The three preceding commandments teach 
us the love which we owe to God, and the other seven, the 

lib. 3. dedoctrin. Christ, c. 10. et lib. 50. hom. 3S. D. Thorn. 2. 2. qusest. 17. 
art. 8. (3) 1 j h n , iv. 20. 

(4) Vid. Clem. Alexan. lib. 6. Strom, satiaante finem, Aug. in Exod. q. 71. 
D. Thorn. 1.2. q. 100. art. 4. 



364 THE CATECHISM OF 

duties which we owe to domestic and public society. The 
distinction, therefore, which refers some to the first, others to 
the second table, is not without good ground : in the three first, 
God, the supreme good, is, as it were, the subject matter, in the 
others, the good of our neighbour : the first propose the su- 
preme, the others the proximate object of our love : the first 
regard the ultimate end, the others those duties which refer to 
that end. (5) 
Difference Again, the love of God terminates in God himself, for God 
the com- is to be loved above all things for his own sake ; but the love 
tfSfjSfof out-neighbour originates in, and is to be referred to, the 
and second love of God. If we love our parents, obey our masters, respect 
I." our superiors, our ruling principle in doing so should be, that 
God is their creator, and wishes to give preeminence to those 
by whose co-operation he governs and protects all others ; and 
as he requires that we yield a dutiful respect to such persons, 
we should do so, because he deems them worthy of this honor. 
If then we honor our parents, the tribute- is paid to God rather 
than to man ; and accordingly we read in the tenth chapter of 
S. Matthew, which, amongst other matters, treats also of duty 
to superiors ; " He that receiveth you, receiveth me ;" (6) and 
the Apostle in his Epistle to the Ephesians, giving instruction 
to servants says : " Servants, be obedient to them that are your 
" lords according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the 
" simplicity of your heart, as to Christ : not serving to the eye, 
"as it were pleasing men, but as the servants of Christ, doing 
« the will of God from the heart." (7) 
II. Moreover, no honor, no piety, no devotion can be rendered 

to God, worthy of him towards whom love admits of infinite 
increase, and hence our charity should become every day 
more fervent towards him, who commands us to love him 
" with our whole heart, our whole soul, and with all our 
Note. " strength :" (8) but the love of our neighbour has its lim- 
its, for we are commanded to love our neighbour as ourselves ; 
and to outstep these limits, by loving him as we love God, were 

(5) Vid. Aug. in Ps. xxxii. serm. 1. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 122. art. 1 et 2. et in 
opusc. 7. cap. de primo praecepto. (6) Matth. x. 40. 

(7j Ephes. vi. 5, 6. Vid. Aug. lib. 3. de doct. Christ, c. 12. et lib. 4. Conf. c. 
9, 10, 11, 12. Prosper. 1. 3. de vita contempl. c. 13. Bernard, de diligendo Deo. 

(8) Deut. vi. 5. Luke, x. 27. Matth. xxii. 37, 38, 39. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 365 

a crime of the blackest enormity. " If any man come to me," 
says our Lord, " and hate not his father and mother, and wife 
" and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life 
" also; he cannot be my disciple." (9) To him who would 
first attend the burial of his father, and then follow Christ, our 
Lord says, to the same effect : " Let the dead bury their dead;" 
(10) and the same lesson of instruction is more clearly convey- 
ed in these words of S. Matthew : " He that loveth father or 
" mother, more than me, is not worthy of me." (11) Parents, 
no doubt, are to be affectionately loved, and highly respected ; 
but religion requires that supreme honor and homage be given 
to him alone, who is the sovereign Creator, and universal Fa- 
ther, and that our love for our parents be referred to our eter- 
nal Father who is in heaven. Should, however, the injunctions Note - 
of parents be at any time opposed to the commandments of 
God, children, are, of course, to prefer the will of God to the 
desires of their parents, always keeping in view the divine max- 
im: " We ought to obey God rather than men." (12) 

Having premised this exposition, the pastor will proceed to To 'honor,' 
explain the words of the commandment, beginning with " hon- ™ eamn S 
" or." To " honor" is to think respectfully of any one, and, 
in every relation in which he may be considered, to hold him 
in the highest estimation. It includes love, respect, obedience, 
and reverence, and is here used with great propriety in prefer- 
ence to the word " fear" or "love ;" although parents are al- 
so to be much loved and feared. Respect and reverence are 
not always the accompaniments of love, neither is love the in- 
separable companion of fear ; but honor, when proceeding from 
the heart, combines both fear and love. 

The pastor will next explain who they are, whom the com- Whom the 

• i • • command- 

mandment designates as fathers ; for although it refers pnman- ment de- 
ly to our natural fathers, yet the word has a secondary mean- F^ers.* 13 
ing ; and, a matter at which we have already glanced, includes, l> 
as we know from numerous passages of Scripture, many others n. 
who are also entitled to due honor. In the first place, the pre- 
lates of the Church, her pastors and clergy, are called fathers, 
after the example of the Apostle : " I write not these things," 

C9) Luke, xiv. 26. (10) Luke, ix. 60. (11) Matth. x. 37. (12) Acts, v. 29. 



366 THE CATECHISM OF 

says he, " to confound -you ; but I admonish you as my dearest 
" children : for if you have ten thousand instructors in Christ ; 
" yet not many fathers ; for in Christ Jesus by the Gospel I 
"have begotten you." (13) We also read in Ecclesiasticus : 

ni - " Let us praise men of renown, and our fathers in their gene- 
" ration." (1 4) Those who govern the state, to whom are en- 
trusted power, magistracy, or empire, are also called fathers ; 

IV - thusNaaman was called father by his servants. (15) To those, 
to whose care, fidelity, probity and wisdom, others are com- 
mitted, such as pastors, instructors, masters and guardians, is 
also given the name of father ; and hence the sons of the pro- 

V. phets called Elias (16) and Eliseus (17) by this name. Final- 
ly, aged men, whose years entitle them to our respect, we also 
Note, call fathers. In the instructions of the pastor, however, it will 
not be forgotten to enforce particularly the obligation we are 
under, of honoring all who are entitled to be denominated fa- 
thers, especially our natural fathers, of whom the divine com- 
mandment particularly speaks. They are, as it were, repre- 
sentatives of the one, great, immortal, and universal Father; in 
them we behold the image of our own origin : from them we 
have received existence : them God made use of to impart 
to us the soul with all its faculties : by them we have been 
conducted to the sacraments, formed to society, blessed with 
education, and instructed in purity and holiness of life. (18) 
Mothers to The pastor will teach that the name of "mother" is also 

be loved & ..... .. ., 

honored, mentioned in this commandment, and with good reason, awak- 
ening, in us, as it does, a grateful recollection of the bene- 
fits which we have received from her ; of the claims which she 
has to our dutiful affection ; of the care and solicitude with 
which she bore us, the pain and travail with which she brought 
us forth, and the labour and anxiety with which she watched 
over our infant years. 
Nature of Moreover, the honor which children are commanded to pay 
dueto^a- to t * le * r P arents should be the spontaneous offering of sincere 
rents. and dutiful love. This respectful regard they challenge upon 

(13) 1 Cor. iv. 14, 15, 16. (14) Eccl. xliv. 1. (15) 4 Kings, v. 13. 

(16) 4 Kings, ii. 12. (17) 4 Kings, xiii. 14. 

(18) De officiis filiorum erga parentes vid Antonium Augustinum lib. 10. tit. 



II. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 367 

the strongest titles — they who, for love of us, decline no la- 
bour, spare no exertion, shrink from no danger ; whose high- 
est pleasure it is to indulge in the reflection that they are be- 
loved by their children, the dear objects of their parental so- 
licitude and affection. Joseph, when, next to majesty, he en- 
joyed in Egypt the highest station, and the most ample power, 
received his father with honor, when he went down into 
Egypt; (19) Solomon rose to meet his mother as she approach- 
ed; and having paid her the tribute of filial respect, placed 
her on a royal throne on his right hand, (20) 

We also owe to our parents other duties of respect, such as 
to supplicate God in their behalf, that they may lead prosper- 
ous and happy lives, beloved and esteemed by all who know 
them, and most pleasing in the sight of God and of his saints. 
We also honor them by submission to their wishes and incli- III. 
nations : " My son," says Solomon, hear the instruction of thy 
" father, and forsake not the law of thy mother ; that grace 
" may be added to thy head, and a chain of gold to thy neck." 
(21) "Children," says S. Paul, "obey your parents in the 
"Lord, for this is just;" (22) and also, "children, obey your 
" parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord." 
(23) This doctrine is confirmed by the example of those who 
were most eminent for sanctity : Isaac, when bound for sacri- 
fice by his father, meekly obeyed ; (24) and the Rechabites, 
not to depart from the counsel of their fathers, always abstain- 
ed from wine. (25) We also honor our parents by the imita- jv 
tion of their good example : to study the life of another, as a 
model for imitation, is the highest mark of esteem. We honor V. 
them when we not only ask but follow their counsels ; and also vi 
when we believe their necessities, supplying them with neces- 
sary food and raiment, according to these words of the Re- 
deemer : " why do you also transgress the commandments of 
" God for your tradition ? For God said : ' Honor thy father 
" ' and mother ;' and ' he that shall curse father or mother dy- 
" ' ing let him die.' But you say ; whosoever shall say to fa- 
" ther or mother, the gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, 

(1 9) Gen. xlvi. (20) 3 Kings, ii. 19. (21) Proverbs, i. 8, 9. 

(22) Ephes. vi. 1. (23) Col. iii. 20. (24) Gen. xxii. 9. 

(25) Jerem. xxxv. 6. 



368 THE CATECHISM OF 

" shall profit thee ; and shall not honor his father or his moth- 
"er; and you have made frustrate the commandment of God 
" for your own tradition." (26) 

But if at all times it is our duty to honor our parents, this 
duty becomes still more imperative, when they are visited by 
severe illness : we should then pay particular attention to what 
regards their eternal salvation, taking especial care that they 
duly receive the last sacraments y consoling them with the fre- 
quent conversation of pious and religious persons, who may 
strengthen their weakness, assist them by their counsel, and 
animate them to the hope of a glorious immortality ; that hav- 
ing risen above the concerns of this world, they may fix their 
thoughts and affections entirely on God. Thus blessed with 
the sublime virtues of faith, hope and charity, and fortified by 
the sacraments of the Church, they will not only look at death 
without dismay, for death is the lot of all men ; but will hail it 
as the bright opening to a blessed immortality. 
VIII. Finally, we honor our parents when, after they have been 
summoned from this world, we discharge the last offices of fil- 
ial piety towards them, giving them an honorable interment, at- 
tending to the celebration of their obsequies, their anniversa- 
ries, the oblation of the holy sacrifice for the repose of their 
souls, and faithfully executing their last wills. 
Others But we are bound to honor not only our natural parents, but 

entitled to also those who are entitled to be called fathers, such as bish- 
of^afher °P 3 anc * P r i ests > kings, princes and magistrates, tutors, guar- 
to be ho- dians and masters, teachers, aged persons and the like ; all of 
whom are entitled, some in a greater, some in a less degree, to 

Sd^nests s ^ are our love ' our obedience ? our assistance. Of bishops and 
how to be other pastors S. Paul says : " Let the priests that rule well be 
ono J e • "esteemed worthy of double honor, especially they who labour 
" in the word and doctrine." (27) What proofs of ardent love 
for the Apostle the Galatians must have given may be inferred 
from the illustrious testimony in which he has recorded their 
benevolence : " I bear you witness," says he, " that if it could 

(26) Matth. xv. 3, 4, 5, 6, Subveniendum esse parentibus, vid. Basil, hom. 
dehonore parentura & in Hexam. hom. 9. Amb. lib. 5. Hexam. c. 16. Cone. 
Gangr. can. 6. Vid. item. dist. 86. multis in locis Hier. lib. 2. Commentar. in 
Matt. Aug. lib. 1. quaest. Evang. cap. 14. (21) 1 Tim. v. 17. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 369 

" be done, you would have plucked out your own eyes, and would 
" have given them to me." (28) The priest is also entitled to **• 
receive whatever is necessary for his support : " Who," says 
S. Paul, " serveth as a soldier at his own charges ?" (29) " Give 
" honor to the priests," says Ecclesiasticus, " and purify thy- 
" self with thy arms ; give them their portion, as it is com- 
" manded thee, of the first fruits and of purifications." (30) 
The Apostle also teaches that they are entitled to obedience : III. 
" Obey your prelates, and be subject to them ; for they watch 
"as being to render an account of your souls." (31) Nay Note, 
more, Christ himself commands obedience even to wicked pas- 
tors : " Upon the chair of Moses have sitten the Scribes and 
" Pharisees : all things, therefore, whatsoever they shall say to 
" you, observe ye and do ye ; but according to their works do 
" ye not, for they say and do not." (32) 

The same rule is to regulate our conduct towards princes Princes 
and magistrates, and all others to whose authority we are sub- fa n ctiona- C 
iect : and the honor and obedience due to them are explained at ries t0 J* 

J honored. 

large by the Apostle in his Epistle to the Romans : (33) He 
also commands us to pray for them ; (34) and S. Peter says : 
" Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God's 
" sake ; whether it be to the king as excelling, or to governors 
"as sent by him." (35) The honor which we render them is Note, 
referred to God : it is paid to their exalted dignity, which is 
derived from and emblematic of the divine power ; and in which 
we recognise a superintending Providence, who has committed 
to them the administration of the State, and who makes use of 
them as the ministers of his power. (36) It is not that we re- 
spect the profligacy or wickedness of the man, should such 
moral turpitude debase the lives of public functionaries — no ; 
we revere the authority of God with which they are invested. 
Therefore it is, and it may appear to some matter of surprise, Princes, 
that, be their sentiments towards us the most inimical, be their obeyed? 

(28) Gal. iv. 15. (29) 1 Cor. ix. 7. 

(30) Eccl. vii. 33, 34. Decimas solvendas esse vid. Cone. Aurel. 1. c. 11. 
Matiscon. 2. c. 5. Forojul. c. ultim. Lat. Magn. c. 53. Trid. sess. 25. c. 13. vid. 
itemmulta capita 16. q. I. &. 7. & Tit. de decimis in deer. D. Th. 2. 2. q. 87. 

(31) Heb. xiii. 17. (32) Matth. xxiii. 2, 3. 
(S3) Rom. xiii. (34) 1 Tim. ii. 2. 

(35) 1 Pet. ii. 13, 14. Vid. Tertull. in Apol. 6. 30 et 32. etad Scap. c. 2. 

(36) Vid. Aug. lib. 5. de civit Dei, c. 10, 11, 14, 15. 

47 



370 THE CATECHISM OF 

hostility the most immitigable, their personal enmity and hostil- 
ity do not, however, afford a just cause to release us from the 
duty of submissive respect to their persons and authority. Thus 
the Scriptures record the important services rendered by Da- 
vid to Saul, at a time when David was the innocent object of 
his hatred : " With them that hated peace," says he, " I was 
When not " peaceable." (37) But, should they issue a wicked or unjust 
to be obey- man( j a t e) they are on no account to be obeyed : such a man- 
date is not the legitimate exercise of power, but an act of per- 
verse injustice. 
Reward Having expounded these matters severally, the pastor will 
t ™theob- next consider the nature of the reward promised to the observ- 
servanceof ance f this commandment, and its accordance with the duty 
mandment of filial piety. It consists principally in length of days : they 
who always preserve the grateful recollection of a benefit de- 
serve to be blessed with its lengthened enjoyment; and this 
children do, who honor their parents. To those from whom 
they received existence they gratefully acknowledge the obli- 
gation, and are therefore deservedly rewarded with the pro- 
tracted enjoyment of that existence, to an advanced age. The 
nature of the divine promise also demands explanation : it in- 
cludes not only the eternal life of the blessed, but also the term 
of our mortal existence, according to these words of the Apos- 
tle: "Godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of 
" the life that now is, and of that which is to come." (38) Ma- 
ny very holy men, it is true, Job (39) David, (40) Paul, (41) 
desired to die, and a long life is burdensome to the wretched ; 
(42) but the reward which is here promised is, notwithstand- 
ing, neither inconsiderable, nor to be despised. The additional 
words," which the Lord thy God will give thee," promise not 
only length of days, but 'also repose, tranquillity, security, 
which render life happy ; for in Deuteronomy it is not only 
said, " that thou mayest live a long time ;" but it is also added, 
" and that it may be well with thee ;" (43) words which the 
Apostle repeats in his Epistle to the Ephesians. (44) 

These blessings, we say, are conferred on those only, on 



This re- 



(37) Ps. cxix. 7. (38) 1 Tim. iv. 8. (39) Job, iii. 

(40) Ps. cxix. 5. (41 ; Phil. ii. 17. (42) 2 Cor. v. 2. 

(43) Deut. v. 16. (44) Eph. vi. 3. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 371 

whose piety God really deems it a reward to bestow them, oth- ward not 
erwise the divine promises would not be fulfilled. The more conferred 
dutiful child is sometimes the more short-lived ; either because children 11 
his interests are best consulted by summoning him from this and why. 
world, before he has strayed from the path of virtue and of du- 
ty, according to these words of the Wise man : " He was tak- 
" en away lest wickedness should alter his understanding, or 
" deceit beguile his soul ;" (45) or because, when the gather- n. 
ing storm threatens to burst upon society, carrying anarchy 
and ruin in its desolating career, he is called from the troubled 
scene, in order to escape the universal calamity. Thus, when 
God avenges the crimes of mortals, his virtue and salvation are 
secured against the dangers to which they might otherwise 
have been exposed ; or else, he is spared the bitter anguish of m 
witnessing the calamities of which, in such melancholy times, 
his friends and relations might become the victims. " The just 
" man," says the Prophet, " is taken away from before the face 
"of evil." (46) The premature death of the good, therefore, Note, 
gives just reason to apprehend the approach of calamitous days. 

But, if Almighty God holds forth rewards to remunerate fil- Punish- 
ial dutifulness, he also reserves the heaviest chastisements to "ofation.* 8 
punish filial ingratitude and impiety : it is written : " He that 
" curseth his father or mother shall die the death :" (47) " he 
" that afflicteth his father and chaseth away his mother, is in- 
" famous and unhappy :" (48) " he that curseth his father and 
" mother, his lamp shall be put out in the midst of darkness :" 
(49) " the eye that mocketh at his father, and that despiseth 
" the labour of his mother in bearing him, let the ravens of the 
« brooks pick it out, and the young eagles eat it." (50) There 
are on record many instances of undutiful children, who were 
made the signal objects of the divine vengeance. The disobedi- 
ence of Absalom to his father David did not go unpunished : he 
perished miserably : three lances transfixed his body. (51 ) But of Note, 
those who resist the spiritual authority of the priest it is writ- 
ten: " He that will be proud, and refuse to obey the command- 

(45) Wisd. iv. 10, 11. (46) Isa. Ivii. 1. (47) Exod. xxi. 17. Lev. xx. 9. 
(48) Prov. xix. 26. (49) Prov. xx. 20. (50) Prov. xxx. 17. 
(51) 2 Kings, xviii. 14. 



372 THE CATECHISM OF 

" ment of the priest who ministereth at that time to the Lord 
" thy God, by the decree of the judge that man shall die." (52) 
Duties of As, then, the law of God commands children to honor their 
wards their parents and render them an obsequious obedience, so are there 
children, reciprocal duties which parents owe to their children, to bring 
them up in the knowledge and the practice of religion, and to 
give them the best precepts for the regulation of their lives ; 
that instructed in the truths of religion, and prepared to make 
these truths the guiding principles of their conduct through 
life, they may preserve inviolate their fidelity to God, and 
serve him in holiness. This duty of parents is beautifully il- 
lustrated in the conduct of the parents of the chaste Susanna. 
(53) The pastor, therefore, will admonish parents to be to 
their children models of the virtues, which it is their duty to 
inculcate, of justice, chastity, modesty, and, in a word, of 
Three every Christian virtue. He will also admonish them to guard 

things to «ii • i • • 

be avoided particularly against three things, in which they but too often 
by parents, transgress — In the first place, they are not by words or actions 
to exercise too much harshness towards their children: this is 
the instruction of S. Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians : 
"Fathers," says he, "provoke not your children to' indigna- 
" tion, lest they be discouraged." (54) Parental severity 
may, it is to be apprehended, break the spirit of the child, 
and render him abject and timid, afraid of every thing, and is 
therefore to be deprecated : instead of indulging intemperate 
passion, the parent should reprove in the spirit of parental 
II- correction, not of revenge. Should a fault be committed which 
requires reproof and chastisement, the parent should not, on 
the other hand, by an unseasonable indulgence, over-look its 
correction : children often become depraved by too much leni- 
ty and indulgence ; and the pastor, therefore, will deter from 
such criminal weakness, by the warning example of Heli, who, 
in the misguided fondness of a father's feelings forgot his duty 
to religion, and was in consequence visited with the heaviest 
III. chastisements. (55) Finally, in the instruction and education 
of their children, let them not follow the pernicious example of 

(52) Deut. xvii. 12. Vid. Clem, epist. 3. sub. init. item. ep. 1. etiamsub inil. 
Ambr. 1. 2. offic. c. 24. Hieron. epist. 1 . post med. vid. item 1 1. q. 3. c. Jl. 12, 
13. (53) Dan. xiii. 3. (54) Col. Hi. 21. (55) 1 Kings, ii. S, 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 373 

many parents, whose sole concern it is to leave their children 
wealth, riches, an ample and splendid fortune ; who stimu- 
late them not to piety and religion, or to honorable and virtu- 
ous pursuits, but to avarice, and an increase of wealth ; and 
who, provided their children are rich and wealthy, are regard- 
less of those qualities which would render them truly estima- 
ble, and secure their eternal salvation. Language cannot 
express, nor can thought conceive, any thing to exceed in 
turpitude the criminal conduct of such parents, Of whom it is 
true to say, that instead of bequeathing wealth to their chil- 
dren, they leave them rather their own wickedness and crimes 
for an inheritance ; and instead of conducting them to heaven, 
lead them to perdition. The pastor therefore will impress on 
the minds of parents salutary principles for the guidance of 
their conduct, and will excite them to imitate the virtuous ex- 
ample of Tobias ; (56) that having thus trained up their chil- 
dren to the service of God, and to holiness of life, they may, 
in turn, experience at their hands abundant fruit of affection, 
respect, and obedience. 

(56) Tob. iv. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



THOU SHALT NOT KILL." (1) 



The great happiness proposed to the peacemakers, of being Utility and 
called " the children of God," should prove a powerful ex- f expialn- 
citement to animate the zeal of the pastor in explaining with mg tlns d 
diligent accuracy the obligations imposed by this command- ment. 
ment. No means more efficacious can be adopted to promote 
peace and harmony amongst mankind, than the due and holy 
and universal observance of the law announced by this com- 
mandment, if properly explained. Then might we hope that, 

(l)Exod. xx. 13. 



374 THE CATECHISM OF 

united in the strictest bonds of union, mankind would live in 
perfect peace and concord. The necessity of explaining this 
commandment to the faithful is evinced by two considerations. 
Immediately after the earth was overwhelmed in universal de- 
luge, the first prohibition issued by the Almighty was, that man 
should not imbrue his hands in the blood of his fellowman : " I 
" will require the blood of your lives," says he, " at the hand 
" of every beast, and at the hand of man." {2) In the next 
place, amongSt the precepts of the Old Law expounded by our 
Lord, this commandment holds the first place, as may be seen 
by consulting the fifth chapter of S. Matthew, where the Re- 
deemer says : " It has been said thou shalt not kill, &c." (3) 
Note. The faithful should also hear with willing attention the exposi- 
tion of a commandment, the observance of which must be the 
security of their own lives : these words, " Thou shalt not kill," 
emphatically forbid the shedding of blood ; and they should be 
heard by all with the same pleasure as if God, expressly nam- 
ing each individual, were to prohibit injury to be offered him 
under a threat of the divine anger, and the heaviest chastise- 
ment of the divine wrath. As, then, the announcement of this 
commandment must be heard with pleasure, so should its ob- 
servance be to us a pleasing duty. 
Itsobliga- In its developement our Lord himself points out its two-fold 
foW-'pro- °b% at i° n j the one forbidding to kill,' the other commanding us 
hibitory, to cherish sentiments of charity, concord, and friendship to- 
datory. wards our enemies, to have peace with all men, and finally, to 
endure with patience every inconvenience which the unjust ag- 
gression of others may inflict. With regard to the prohibitory 
part of the commandment, the pastor will first point out the lim- 
Exce - ** s wn i cn restrict the prohibition. In the first place, We are 
tions to not prohibited to kill those animals which are intended to be 
the food of man : if so intended by Almighty God, it must be 
lawful for us to exercise this jurisdiction over them. " When," 
says S. Augustine, "we hear the words ' thou shalt not kill,' we 
'' are not to understand the prohibition to extend to the fruits 
" of the earth which are insensible, nor to irrational animals, 
" which form no part of the great society of mankind." (4) 

(2) Gen. ix. 5. (5) Matth. v. 21. 

(4) De civit Dei, 1. 1. c 20. item de morib. Manich. 1. 2. c. 18, 14, 15. 



the first. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. S75 

Again, this prohibition does not apply to the civil magis- n. 
trate, to whom is entrusted power of life and death, by the le- 
gal and judicious exercise of which he punishes the guilty and 
protects the innocent. The use of the civil sword, when wield- 
ed by the hand of justice, far from involving the crime of mur- 
der, is an act of paramount obedience to this commandment 
which prohibits murder. The end of the commandment is the 
preservation and security of human life, and to the attainment 
of this end the punishments inflicted by the civil magistrate, 
who is the legitimate avenger of crime, naturally tend, giving 
security to life by repressing outrage and violence. Hence 
these words of David : " In the morning I put to death all the 
" wicked of the land ; that I might cut off all the workers of in- 
iquity from the city of the Lord." (5) In like manner, the III. 
soldier is guiltless who, actuated not by motives of ambition or 
cruelty, but by a pure desire of serving the interests of his 
country, takes away the life of an enemy in a just war. (6) 
There are on record instances of carnage executed by the spe- IV. 
cial command of God himself : the sons of Levi, who had put 
to death so many thousands in one day, were guilty of no sin : 
when the slaughter had ceased, they were addressed by Moses 
in these words : " you have consecrated your hands this day to 
" the Lord." (T) 

Death, when caused by accident, not by intent or design, is not v - 
murder : " He that killeth his neighbour ignorantly," says the 
book of Deuteronomy, " and who is proved to have had no ha- 
" tred against him yesterday, and the day before, but to have 
" gone with him to the wood to hew wood, and in cutting down 
" the tree the axe slipt out of his hand, and the iron slipping 
"from the handle struck his friend and killed him, shall live." 
(8) Such accidental deaths, because inflicted without intent or 
design, involve no guilt whatever, and in this we are fortified 
by the opinion of S. Augustine : " God forbid," says he, " that 
" what we do for a good or lawful end should be imputed to 

(5) Ps. c. 8. Aug. epist. 154. & citat. 23. q. 5. cap. de occidendis. item 
epist. 54. &citatur ibid. cap. nonest iniquitatis. Vide adhuc ibid, alia capita & 
D. Thom. 2. 2. q. 64. a. 2. & q. 108. a. 3. 

(6) Aug. de civit. Dei, c. 26. citatus 23. q. 5. cap. miles. Vide item de bello 
D. Thom. 2. 2. q. 40. per 4. art. 

(7) Exod. xxvii. 29. (8) Deut, xix. 



376 THE CATECHISM OF 

" us, if, contrary to our intention, evil accrue to any one." (9) 
Two cases There are, however, two cases in which guilt attaches to ac- 
guilt at- cidental death : the one, when it is the consequence of an un- 
accidental lawful act ; when, for instance, a person strikes a woman in 
death. a gtate f p re g nanC y 5 an( j abortion follows. The consequence, 
it is true, may not have been intended, but this does not excul- 
pate the offender, because the act was in itself unlawful. The 
other case is, when death is caused by negligence, incaution, 
or want of due circumspection. 
*** If a man kill another in self-defence, having used every pre- 

caution consistent with his own safety to avoid the infliction of 
death, he evidently does not violate this commandment, 
exceptions, These are the instances in which human blood may be shed 
wtVy^art without the guilt of murder ; and with these exceptions the 
universal precept binds universally with regard to the person who kills, 
gation.withthe person killed, and the means used to kill. As to the per- 
the^erson son wno k^ s ' ^ ie comman dment recognises no exception what- 
who kills, ever, be he rich or powerful, master or parent : all, without 
kiLd^and exception of person or distinction of rank, are forbidden to 
the d ™ e f n ,j kill. With regard to the person killed, the obligation of the 
law is equally extensive, embracing every human creature ; 
there is no individual, however humble or lowly his condition, 
whose life is not shielded by this law. It also forbids suicide. 
Note. -^ Q man p 0S s esses such absolute jurisdiction over himself, as 
to be at liberty to put a period to his own existence : and hence 
we find that the commandment does not say, " thou shalt not 
"kill another," but simply, "Thou shalt not kill." Finally, 
if we consider the numerous means by which murder may be 
committed, the law admits of no exception : not only does it 
forbid to take away the life of another by laying violent hands 
on him, by means of a sword, a dagger, a stone, a stick, a hal- 
ter, or by administering poison; but also strictly prohibits the 
accomplishment of the death of another by counsel, assistance, 
or any other means of co-operation. 
notonly 3 ^he J ews > with singular dullness of apprehension, thought 
murder but that to abstain from shedding human blood was enough to sa- 
tisfy the obligation imposed by this commandment. But the 

(9) Vide Aug. epist. 154. & citatnr 23. q. 5. c. de occidendis. Item vida 
multa capita dist. 5. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 64. a. 8. Trid. Sess. 14. de reform, c. 7. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 377 

Christian, who, instructed by the interpretation of Jesus Christ, 
has learned that the precept is spiritual, and that it commands 
us not only to keep our hands unstained but our hearts pure 
and undefiled, will not deem such a compliance sufficient: him 
the Gospel has taught, that it is unlawful even to be angry 
with a brother; " But I say to you that whosoever is angry 
" with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment ; and who- 
" soever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of 
" the council ; and whosoever shall say, thou fool, shall be in 
" danger of hell fire." (10) From these words it clearly follows 
that he who is angry with his brother, although he may conceal 
his resentment, is not exempt from sin ; that he who gives 
indication of that anger sins grievously ; and that he who dreads 
not to treat his brother with harshness, and to utter contume- 
lious reproaches against him, sins still more grievously. (11) 

This, however, is to be understood of cases in which no Anger, 
just cause of anger exists. To animadvert on those who are fy™ aw ' 
placed under our authority, when they commit a fault, is an 
occasion of anger, which God and his laws permit ; but even 
in these circumstances the anger of a Christian should be the 
dictate of duty, not the impulse of passion, for we should be 
temples of the Holy Ghost, in which Jesus Christ may dwell. 
(1 2) Our Lord has left us many other lessons of instruction 
which regard the perfect observance of this law, such as " not 
" to resist evil ; but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn 
" to him also the other; and to him that will contend with thee 
" in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also 
" unto him ; and whosover will free thee one mile, go with him 
" other two." 

From what has been already said, it is easy to perceive Remedies 

• \ • i , ■, • -. , against the 

how propense man is to those sins which are prohibited by violation 
this commandment, and how many are guilty of murder, if not command- 
in fact, at least in desire. As then the sacred Scriptures pre- ment - 
scribe remedies for so dangerous a disease, to spare no pains 

(10) Matth. v. 22. De ira vide Basil, hom. 10. Chrjsost. hom. 29. ad pop. 
Antioch. D. Thorn. 22. qucest. 108. per totam. 

(11) Vide Aug. de serm. Dom. in monte, 1. 1. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 15S. a. 3. 

(12) 1 Cor. vi. 19. 

(13) Matth. v. 39. Vide Aug. epist. 5. ad Mar. & de serin. Domini in mon- 
te, 1. 2. c. 20. 

48 



378 THE CATECHISM OF 

in making them known to the faithful becomes an obvious du- 
I. ty of the pastor. Of these remedies the most efficacious is to 
form a just conception of the wickedness of him who imbrues 
his hands in the blood of his fellow-man. The enormity of 
this sin is set forth by attestations of Holy Scripture as strong 
as they are numerous. In the inspired Volume God pours out 
the deepest execrations against the murderer, declares that of 
the very beast of the field he will exact vengeance for the life 
of man, commanding the beast that sheds human blood to be 
Note, put to death. (14) And if the Almighty commanded man to 
abstain from the use of blood, he did so for no other reason 
than to impress on his mind the obligation of entirely refrain- 
ing, both in act and desire, from the enormity of shedding hu- 
ll, man blood. The murderer is the worst enemy of his species, 
and consequently of nature : to the utmost of his power, he 
destroys the universal work of God by the destruction of man, 
for whose sake God declares that he created all things : nay, 
as it is prohibited in Genesis to take away human life, because 
God created man to his own image and likeness, he, therefore, 
who destroys his image offers great injury to God, and seems, 
Note. as it w ere? t ] a y violent hands on God himself! David, with a 
mind illumined from above, deeply impressed with the enormi- 
ty of such guilt, characterises the sanguinary in these words : 
'• Their feet are swift to shed blood." (15) He does not sim- 
ply say, "they kill," but, "they shed blood;" words which 
serve to set that execrable crime in its true light, and to mark 
emphatically the barbarous cruelty of the murderer. With a 
view also to describe energetically how the murderer is pre- 
cipated by the impulse of the devil into the commission of such 
an enormity, he says : " Their feet are swift." 
Mandatory But the tendency of the injunctions of Christ our Lord, 
Command- regarding the observance of this commandment, is, that we 
ment, in- have peace with all men. Interpreting the commandment he 
charity to says : " If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there 
all men; « t h ou remember that thy brother hath aught against thee; 
" leave there thy offering, and go first to be reconciled to thy 
" brother ; and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift, &c." (16) 

(14) Gen. ix. 5, 6. (15) Ps. xiii. 5. (16) Matth. v. 24. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 379 

In unfolding the spirit of this admonition, the pastor will show- 
that it inculcates the duty of cherishing charitable feelings to- 
wards all without exception, feelings to which, in his exposi- 
tion of this commandment, he will exhort with the most 
earnest solicitude, evincing, as they do most effectually, the 
virtue of fraternal charity. It will not be doubted that hatred 
is forbidden by this commandment, for, " whosoever hateth his 
" brother is a murderer :" (17) from this principle it follows as 
an evident consequence, that the commandment also inculcates 
charity and love ; and inculcating charity and love it must also ^ nd d a !^° 
enjoin all those duties and good offices which follow in their of charity, 
train. "Charity is patient," says S. Paul ; (18) we are there- *• 
fore commanded patience, in which, as the Redeemer teaches, 
"we shall possess our souls." (19) " Charity is kind ;" (20) n. 
beneficence is, therefore, her companion and hand-maid. The 
virtue of beneficence is one of very great latitude : its principal 
offices are to relieve the wants of the poor, to feed the hungry, 
to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked ; and in all 
these acts of beneficence we should proportion our liberality to 
the wants and necessities of their objects. 

These works of beneficence and goodness, in themselves ex- in. 
alted, become still more illustrious when done towards an ene- 
my, in accordance with the command of the Saviour : " Love 
"your enemies, do good to them that hate you." (21) "If 
" thine enemy be hungry," says S. Paul, " give him to eat : if 
" he thirst, give him to drink ; for doing this, thou shalt heap 
" coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome by evil, butover- 
" come evil by good." (22) Finally, if we consider the law of 
charity, which is "kind," we shall be convinced that to prac- 
tice the good offices of mildness, clemency and other kindred 
virtues, is a duty prescribed by that law. 

But a duty of pre-eminent excellence, and that, too, which is 
the fullest expression of charity, and to the practice of which 
we should most habituate ourselves, is to pardon and forgive 
from the heart the injuries winch we may have received from 
others. To a full and faithful compliance with this duty the 

(11) 1 John, iii. 15. (18) 1 Cor. xiii. 4. (19) Luke, xxi. 19. 

(20) 1 Cor. xiii. 4. (21) Matth. v. 44. . (22 ) Rom. xii. 20. 




380 THE CATECHISM OF 

Sacred Scriptures, as we have already observed, frequently 
admonish and exhort, not only pronouncing those who do so 
" blessed ;" but also declaring that, whilst to the sinner, who ne- 
glects or refuses to comply with this precept, pardon is denied 
by the Almighty, it is extended to him who discharges this du- 
ty of charity towards an offending brother. (23) But, as the 
desire of revenge is almost natural to fallen man, it becomes ne- 
cessary for the pastor to exert his utmost diligence not only to 
instruct but also earnestly to persuade the faithful, that a Chris- 
tian should forget and forgive injuries ; and as this is a duty 
frequently inculcated by theological writers, he will consult 
them on the subject, and furnish himself with the cogent and ap- 
propriate arguments urged by them, in order to be enabled to 
subdue the pertinacity of those, whose minds are obstinately 
bent on revenge. (24) 
Three con- The three following considerations, however, demand par- 
siderations ticular attention and exposition. — First, to use every effort to 

to enforce A J 

forgiveness persuade him, who conceives himself injured, that the man, of 
o injuries. w k om ^q desires to be revenged, was not the principal cause of 
the loss sustained or of the injury inflicted. This is exemplified 
in the conduct of that admirable man Job : when violently as- 
sailed by men and demons, by the Labeans, the Chaldeans, and 
by Satan, without at all directing his attention to them, as a 
righteous and holy man he exclaimed with no less truth than 
piety : " The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away." (25) 
The words and the example of that man of patience should, 
therefore, convince Christians, and the conviction is most just, 
that whatever chastisements we endure in this life come from 
the hand of God, the fountain of all justice and mercy. He 
chastises us not as enemies, but, in his infinite goodness, cor- 
rects us as children. To view the matter in its true light, men, 
in these cases, are nothing more than the ministers and agents of 
God. One man, it is true, may foster the worst feelings to- 
wards another : he may harbour the most malignant hatred 
against him ; but, without the permission of God, he can do 

(23) Vide Deut. xxxii. 35. item 1 Reg. 25. 32. 33. item 26. 6. 7. 8. 9. item 2 
Reg. 19. 20. Ps. 7. 5. Eccl. xxviii. per totum. Isa. lviii. 6. Matth. vi. 14. et in 
Evangelio passim. Vide item Tertul. in ApoJ. c. 31 & 37. Aug. in Joan, tract. 
81.1. 50. hom. Horn. 6. item ser. 61 & 168. de temp. 

(24) Vid. quee citantur numero 18. (25) Job, i. 21. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 381 

him no injury. Hence Joseph patiently endured the wicked 
counsels of his brethren, (26) and David the injuries inflicted 
on him by Semei. (27) To this also applies an argument which 
S. Chrysostom has ably and learnedly handled : it is that no 
man is injured but by himself. (28) Let the man, who considers 
himself injured by another, consider the matter calmly and dis- 
passionately, and he will feel the justness of the observation : 
he may, it is true, have experienced injury from external caus- 
es; but he is himself his greatest enemy, by wickedly contam- 
inating his soul with hatred, malevolence and envy. 

The second consideration to be explained by the pastor em- 
braces two advantages, which are the special rewards of those, 
who, influenced by a holy desire to please God, freely forgive 
injuries. In the Irst place, God has promised that he who 
forgives shall himself obtain forgiveness; (29) a promise which 
proves how acceptable to God is this duty of piety. In the 
next place, the forgiveness of injuries ennobles and perfects our 
nature ; for by it man is, in some degree, assimilated to God, 
" who maketh his sun to shine on the good and the bad, and 
" raineth upon the just and the unjust." (30) 

Finally, the disadvantages which arise from the indulgence ni - 
of revenge are to be explained. The pastor will place before 
the eyes of the unforgiving man a truth which has the sanction 
of experience, that hatred is not only a grievous sin, but also 
that a continued habit of indulgence renders it inveterate. The 
man, in whose heart this passion has once taken deep root, 
thirsts for the blood of his enemy : day and night he longs for 
revenge: continually agitated by this perverse passion, his 
mind seems never to repose from malignant projects, or even 
from thoughts of blood ; and thus phrensied by hatred, never, 
or at least not without extreme difficulty, can he be induced ge- 
nerously to pardon an offending brother, or even to mitigate his 
hostility towards him. Justly, therefore, is revenge compared to 
a festering wound, from which the weapon has never been ex- 
tracted. 

There are also many evil consequences, many sins which 

(26) Gen. xlv. 5. (21) 2 Kings, xvi. 10. 

(28) Tom. 3. in hom. quod nemo laeditur nisi a seipso. 

(29) Matth. xviii. 33. (30) Matth. v. 48. 



382 THE CATECHISM OF 

follow in the train of this gloomy passion. Hence these words 
of S. John : " He that hateth his brother is in darkness and 
" walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, be- 
" cause the darkness hath blinded his eyes." (31) He must 
therefore frequently fall ; for how, possibly, can any one view 
in a favorable light, the words or actions of him whom he hates? 
Hence arise rash and unjust judgments, anger, envy, deprecia- 
tion of character, and others evils of the same sort, in which 
are often involved those who are connected by ties of friend- 
ship or blood ; and thus does it frequently happen that this one 
sin is the prolific source of many. 
Hatred de- Hatred has been denominated " the sin of the devil," and not 
"the'sinof w ^ tnout » ooc l reason : the devil was a murderer from the be- 
"the de- ginning ; and hence our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 
when the Pharisees sought his life, said, that " they were be- 
" gotten of their father the devil." (32) 
Remedies But besides the reasons already adduced, which afford good 
hatred. grounds for detesting this sin, other and most efficacious rem- 
L edies are prescribed in the pages of inspiration ; and of these 
remedies the first and greatest is the example of the Redeemer, 
which we should set before our eyes as a model for imitation. 
When scourged with rods, crowned with thorns, and finally 
nailed to a cross, he, in whom even suspicion of fault could not 
be found, " the sprinkling of whose blood speaketh better than 
that of Abel," (S3) poured out in his last breath a prayer for his 
executioners : " Father," says he, " forgive them for they know 
" not what they do." (34) 
II- Another remedy prescribed by Ecclesiasticus is to call to 

mind death and judgment: " Remember thy last end, and thou 
" shalt never sin ;" (35) as if he had said : frequently and again 
and again reflect that thou must soon die, and, as at the hour of 
death you will have occasion to invoke the infinite mercy of God, 
his pardon and peace, you should now, and at all times, place that 
awful hour before your eyes, in order to extinguish with- 
in you the consuming fire of revenge ; for, than the forgiveness 
of injuries and the love of those who may have injured you or 

(SI) 1 John, ii. 11. (32) John, viii. 44. (33) Luke, xxiii. 34. 

(34) Heb. xii. 24. (35) Eccl. vii. 40. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 383 

yours, in word or deed, you can discover no means better 
adapted, none more efficacious to obtain the mercy of God. 



THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



"THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY." (1) 

As the bond which subsists between man and wife is one of Of**"* 

• c • which this 

strictest union, nothing can be more gratifying to both than to command- 
know that they are objects of mutual and undivided affection ; ™ e r g °^_ 
and as, on the other hand, nothing inflicts deeper anguish thanP riet y° f 
the alienation of the legitimate love which they owe to each 
other, this commandment, which prohibits concubinage and 
adultery, follows with propriety, and in order, that which 
protects human life against the hand of the murderer. It pro- 
hibits to violate or sunder, by the crime of adultery, the holy 
and honorable union of marriage, a union which is generally 
the source of ardent affection and love. 

In the exposition of this commandment, the pastor has oc- Extreme 

•i caution and 

casion for extreme caution and prudence, and should treat with prudence 
great delicacy a subject which requires brevity rather than co- •„ thTex- 
piousness of exposition ; for there is great reason to apprehend, position of 
that by detailing too diffusely the variety of ways in which mandment 
men depart from the observance of this law, he may perhaps 
light upon those things, which, instead of extinguishing, serve 
rather to inflame corrupt passion. As however the precept 
contains many things which cannot be passed over in silence, 
the pastor will explain them in their proper order and place. 

This commandment, then, resolves itself into two heads ; itself Into 
the one expressed, which prohibits adultery ; the other im- j£Y° h ^ ads ; 
plied, which inculcates purity of mind and body. (2) To be- 

(l)Exod.xx. 14. 

(2) Vide 32. q. 4. c. meretrices; item ibid, multa alia capita; item Amb. de 
Abraham, c. 4. Hier. contr. Jovin. lib. 1. & 2. item in cap. 5. epist. ad Gal. ad 
ilia verba, (manifest, autem ;) item in c. 5. ad Ephes. ad Iijbc verba, (viri ! diligi- 
te;) Aug. de bono conjug. c. 16 & lib. 22. contra Faust, cap. 47. 48. itemln 
quaest. Deut. q. 37. ad cap. 23. iterum Amb. in serm. de S. Joan, qui sic incip. 
diximus superiore Dominica est, 65. item. Greg, in moral, lib. 12. c. 21. D. 
Thorn. 1. 2. q. 100. a. 5. & 2. 2. q. 122. a. 6. 



384 THE CATECHISM OF 

gin with the prohibitory part of the commandment, adultery 
is the defilement of the lawful bed, whether it be one's own or 
another's : if a married man have criminal intercourse with an 
unmarried woman, he violates the integrity of his marriage 
bed ; and if an unmarried man have intercourse with a married 
woman, he defiles the sanctity of the marriage bed of another. 
Prohibits But that every species of licentiousness and every violation 
kUon of°" °f cnast ity are included in this prohibition of adultery, is prov- 
chastity. e d by the concurrent testimonies of S. S. Augustine and Am- 
brose, (3) and that such is the spirit of the commandment is an 
inference borne out by the authority of the Old as well as of 
the New Testament. In the writings of Moses, besides adulte- 
ry, other sins against chastity are punished : the book of Genesis 
records the judgment of Judah against his daughter-in-law : (4) 
" that there should be no harlot amongst the daughters of Is- 
"rael,"is an excellent law of Moses, found in Deuteronomy: 

(5) " Take heed to keep thyself, my son, from all fornication," 

(6) is the exhortation of Tobias to his son ; and in Ecclesiasti- 
cus we read : " Be ashamed of looking upon a harlot." (7) In 
the Gospel, too, Christ the Lord says : " From the heart came 
" forth adulteries and fornications, which defile a man ;" (8) 
and the Apostle Paul expresses his detestation of this crime 
frequently, and in the strongest terms : " This," says he, " is 
" the will of God, your sanctification ; that you should abstain 
" from fornication :" (9) " Fly fornication :" (10) " Keep not 
" company with fornicators." (11) " Fornication and all un- 
" cleanness and covetousness, let it not so much as be named 
" among you, as becometh saints." (12) "Neither fornicators, 
" nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind 

Note. " shall possess the kingdom of God." (13) But adultery is thus 
strictly forbidden, because to the turpitude common alike to it 
and to other excesses it adds the sin of injustice, not only against 
our neighbour, but also against civil society. Certain it also is, 
that he, who abstains not from other sins against chastity, will 
easily fall into the crime of adultery. By the prohibition of 

(3) Amb. 1. 1. officior. I. c. 50. in fine. Aug. quaes. 71. super Exod. 

(4) Gen. xxxviii. 14. (5) Deut. xxiii. 17. (6) Tob. iv. 13. 
(7) Eccl. xli. 35. (8) Matth. xvi. 19. (9) 1 Thess. iv. 3. 
(10) 1 Cor. vi. IS. (11) 1 Cor. v. 9. (12) Eph. v. 3. (!3) 1 Cor. vi. 9. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 385 

adultery, therefore, we at once see that every sort of immodes- 
ty, impurity, and defilement is prohibited ; nay that every in- 
ward thought against chastity is' forbidden by this command- 
ment is clear, as well from the very force of the law, which is 
evidently spiritual, as also from these words of Christ our Lord : 
" But I say to you, that whosoever shall see a woman to lust 
" after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his 
"heart." (14) 
This is the outline of those things which we have deemed ^ dm . oni " 

° tion to the 

proper matter for public instruction : to it, however, the pastor pastor, 
will add the decrees of the holy Synod of Trent against adul- 
terers, and those who keep harlots and concubines; (15) omit- 
ting many other species of immodesty, and lust, of which each 
individual is to be admonished privately, as circumstances of 
time and person may require. 

We now come to explain the positive part of the precept. Second 
The faithful are to be taught, and earnestly exhorted, to culti- head " 
vate with zealous assiduity, continence and chastity, " to cleanse 
" themselves from all defilements of the flesh and of the spirit, 
" perfecting sanctification in the fear of God." (16) The vir- 
tue of chastity, it is true, shines with a brighter lustre in those 
who, with holy and religious fidelity, lead a life of perpetual 
continency : an ordinance in itself admirable, in its origin di- 
vine : yet it is a virtue which belongs also to those who lead a 
life of celibacy; or who, in the married state, preserve them- 
selves pure and undefiled from unlawful desire. The Holy 
Fathers have delivered many important lessons of instruction, 
which teach to subdue the passions, and to restrain sinful plea- 
sure : the pastor, therefore, will make it his study to explain 
them accurately to the faithful, and will use the utmost dili- 
gence in their exposition. (17) 

Of these instructions some relate to thoughts, some to ac- Remedies 
tions. The remedy prescribed against sins of thought consist a ? ainstthe 
in our forming a just conception of the turpitude and evil of this of this 
crime ; and this knowledge will lead more easily to the consid- n^™ 111 " 
erations which prompt to its detestation. The evil of this L 

f 14) Matth. v. 27, 28. (15) Sess. 24. c. 24. de reform. (16) 2 Cor. vii. I. 
(17) Vid. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 151. Trid. 24. do matrirn. c. 3. & sess. 25. de 
regular. 

49 



386 THE CATECHISM OF 

crime we may learn from this reflection alone ; by its commis- 
sion, the perpetrator is banished and excluded from the king- 
dom of God ; an evil which exceeds all others in magnitude. 
IL This calamity is, it is true, common to every mortal sin ; but 
to this sin it is peculiar, that fornicators are said to sin against 
their own bodies, according to the words of S. Paul : " Fly 
"fornication: every sin that a man doth is without the body: 
" but he that committeth fornication, sinneth against his own 
"body." (18) The reason is, that, by violating its sanctity, 
he does an injury to his own body ; and hence the Apostle 
writing to the Thessalonians says : " This is the will of God, 
" your sanctification ; that you should abstain from fornication, 
" that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel 
" in sanctification and honour ; not in the passion of lust, like 
HI. " the Gentiles that know not God." (19) Again, it is an aggra- 
vation of the sinner's guilt, that by the foul crime of fornication, 
the Christian makes the members of Christ the members of a 
harlot, according to these words of S. Paul : " Know you not 
" that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then 
" take the members of Christ and make them the members of 
"a harlot? God forbid; or know you not, that he who is 
Iv - "joined to a harlot is made one body?" (20) Moreover, a 
Christian, as S. Paul testifies, is " the temple of the Holy 
" Ghost;" (21) and to violate this temple, what is it but to ex- 
pel the Holy Ghost ? 

Adultery But tne crime of adultery involves that of grievous injustice. 

a grievous jf } as the Apostle says, they who are joined in wedlock are so 
subject to each other, that neither has power or right over his 
or her body, but both are bound, as it were, by a mutual bond 
of subjection, the husband to accommodate himself to the will 
of the wife, the wife to the will of the husband ; most cer- 
tainly if either dissociate his or her person, which is the 
right of the other, from him or her to whom it is bound, the 
offender is guilty of an act of flagrant injustice, and of a griev- 
ous crime. (22) 

Brands the As dread of infamy strongly stimulates to the performance of 

(18; 1 Cor. vi. 18. (19) 1 Thess. iv. 3, 4, 5. (20) 1 Cor. vi. 15, 16. 
(21)1 Cor. vi. 19. (22,) 1 Cor. vii. 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 387 

duty, and deters from the commission of crime, the pastor will adulterer 
also teach that adultery brands its guilty perpetrators with an my . 
indelible stigma : "He that is an adulterer," says Solomon, 
" for the folly of his heart shall destroy his own soul : he gath- 
" ereth to himself shame and dishonour, and his reproach shall 
" not be blotted out." (23) 

The grievousness of the sin of adultery may be easily in- its grie- 
ferred from the severity of its punishment. According to the JJJSJto- 
law promulgated by God in the Old Testament, the adulterer ferred from 
was condemned to be stoned to death; (24) and even for the ty of its 
criminal passion of one man, (the facts are recorded in the in- j^f 1 " 
spired Volume) not only the perpetrators of the crime, but al- I- 
so, as we read with regard to the Sichemites, (25) sometimes 
the inhabitants of an entire city have been destroyed. The Sa- 
cred Scriptures abound with examples of the divine vengeance 
invoked by such crimes ; such as the destruction of Sodom and 
of the neighbouring cities, (26) the punishment of the Israelites 
who committed fornication in the wilderness with the daugh- 
ters of Moab, (27) and the slaughter of the Benjamites; (28) 
examples which the pastor will adduce to deter from similar 
enormities. 

The punishment of death may not, it is true, always await II. 
such criminality ; but it does not therefore always escape the 
visitations of the divine wrath. The mind of the adulterer is 
frequently a prey to agonizing torture : blinded by his own in- 
fatuation, the heaviest chastisement with which sin can be vis- 
ited, he is lost to all regard for God, for reputation, for honour, 
for family, and even for life ; and thus, utterly abandoned and 
useless, he is undeserving of confidence in any matter of mo- 
ment, and incompetent to the discharge of duty of any sort. Of 
this we find signal examples in the persons of David and Solo- 
mon. David had no sooner fallen into the crime of adultery 
than he degenerated into a character the very reverse of what 
he had been before ; from the mildest of men becoming a mon- 
ster of cruelty, and consigning to death Urias, a man who had 
deserved well of him ; (29) whilst Solomon, having abandoned 

(23) Prov. vi. 32. (24) Levit. xx. 10. John, viii. 5. (25) Gen. xxxiv. 25. 
(26) Gen. xix. 24. (27) Num. xxv. 4. (28) Judges, xx. 

(29) 2 Kings, xi. and xii. 



388 THE CATECHISM OF 

himself to the lust of women, abandoned the true religion to 
follow strange gods. (30) This sin, therefore, as Osee ob- 
serves, plucks out the heart, and often blinds the understand- 
ing. (31) 
Remedies We now come to the remedies which are applicable to this 
against the mora i disease — The first is studiously to avoid idleness: for, 

concupis- , J 1 

cence of according to Ezekiel, it was by yielding themselves up to its 
f s ' enervating influence, that the Sodomites plunged into all the 

II. turpitude of the most base and criminal lust. (32) In the next 
place, intemperance in eating and drinking is carefully to be 
avoided : " I fed them to the full," says the prophet, " and 
" they committed adultery." (33) Repletion and satiety be- 
get lust, as our Lord intimates in these words : " Take heed 
" to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with 
" surfeiting and drunkenness ;" (34) " Be not drunk with 

III. " wine," says S. Paul, " wherein is luxury." (35) But the eyes, 
in particular, are the inlets to criminal passion, and to this re- 
fer these words of our Lord ; " If thine eye scandalize thee, 
"pluck it out, and cast it from thee." (36) The prophets, 
also frequently speak to the same effect : " I made a covenant 
" with mine eyes," says Job, " that I would not so much as 
" think upon a virgin." (37) Finally, there are on record in- 
numerable examples of the evils which have their origin in the 
concupiscence of the eyes : to it we trace the fall of David ; 

(38) the king Sichem fell a victim to its seductive influence ; 

(39) and the elders, who became the false accusers of the 
chaste Susanna, afford a melancholy example of its baneful ef- 
fects. (40) 

IV. Too much ornamental elegance of dress, which solicits the 
eye, is but too frequently an occasion of sin ; and hence the 
admonition of Ecclesiasticus : " Turn away thy face from a 
" woman dressed up." (41 ) A passion for dress often charac- 
terises female weakness : it will not, therefore, be unseasona- 
ble in the pastor to give some attention to the subject ; ming- 
ling reproofs with admonition, in the impressive words of the 

(30) 3 Kings, xi. (31) Ozee, iv. 11. (32) Ezek. xvi. 49. 

(33) Jerem. v. 7. (34) Luke, xxi. 31. (35) Ephes. v. 18. 

(36) Matth. v. 29, 30. (37) Job, xxxi. 1. (38) 2 Kings, xi. 2. 

(39) Gen. xxxiv. 2. (40) Dan. xiii. 8. (41) Eccl. ix. 8. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 389 

Apostle Peter : " Whose adorning," says he, " let it not be the 
" outward plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of gold, or the 
" putting on of apparel ;" (42) and also in the language of S. 
Paul : " Not with plaited hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly at- 
" tire." (43) Many females, adorned with gold and precious 
stones, have lost their only true ornament, the gem of female 
virtue. 

Next to the excitement of desire, usually provoked by too v - 
studied an elegance of dress, follows another, which is inde- 
cent and obscene conversation. Obscene language is a torch 
which lights up the worst passions of the young mind ; and an 
inspired Apostle has said, that " evil communications corrupt 
"good manners." (44) Indelicate and lascivious songs and VI,&VI1, 
dances seldom fail to produce the same fatal effects, and are, 
therefore, cautiously to be avoided. In the same class are to VIII. 
be numbered soft and obscene books : possessing, as they do, a 
fatal influence in exciting to filthy allurements, and in kindling 
criminal desire in the mind of youth : they are to be shunned 
as pictures^of licentiousness, and incentives to turpitude. (45) 

But to avoid with the most scrupulous care the occasions of J?'™ 
sin, which we have now enumerated, is to remove almost ev- xiii. 
ery excitement to lust ; whilst frequent recourse to confession 
and to the Holy Eucharist operates most efficaciously in sub- 
duing its violence. Unceasing and devout prayer to God, ac- 
companied by fasting and alms-deeds, has the same salutary ef- 
fect. Chastity is a gift of God : (46) to those who ask it " aright" 
he denies it not ; nor does he suffer us to be tempted be- 
yond our strength. (47) But the body is to be mortified, and 
the sensual appetites to be repressed not only by fasting, and 
particularly, by the fasts instituted by the Church, but also by 
watching, pious pilgrimages, and other penitential austerities. 
By these and similar penitential observances is the virtue 
of temperance chiefly evinced ; and in accordance with this 

(42) 1 Pet. iii. 3. (43) 1 Tim. ii. 9. (44) 1 Cor. xv. 33. 

(45) Parochus imprimis curet, ut quae de sacris imaginibus a Sacrosancto 
Concilio Tridentino pie religioseque constitituta sunt, ea sanctissime serventur. 
Vid. sess. 25. decret. de invocat, &c. vener. et sacris imagin. 

(46) 1 Cor. vii. 7. 

(41) 1 Cor. x. 13. Vid. Tert. de Monog. in fine. Nazianz. orat. 3. Basil, de 
virg. ultra, medium, Chrys. & Hieron. in c. 16. Matt. Aug. lib. 6. confess, ell. 



390 THE CATECHISM OF 

doctrine, S. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says : " Every 
" one that striveth for the mastery, refraineth himself from all 
"things; and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible 
" crown, but we an incorruptible one ;" (48) and a little after ; 
" I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection, lest, per- 
" haps, when I have preached to others, I myself should be- 
" come reprobate ;" and in another place : " Make not provis- 
" ion for the flesh in its concupiscence." (49) 

(48) 1 Cor. ix. 25. (49) Rom. xiii. 14. 



*HE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



"THOU SHALT NOT STEAL." (1) 

The obser- That, in the early ages of the Church, it was usual to im- 
thilTcom- press on the minds of the faithful the nature and force of this 
rnandment commandment, we learn from the reproof uttered by the Apos- 
inculcated tie against some who were most earnest in deterring others 
]y agesoF f rom vices, in which they themselves were found freely to in- 
theChurch: (j u ]ge : " Thou therefore," says he, " that teachest another, 

the same ° ' J ' 

practice to " teachest not thyself: thou that preachest that men should not 
ed hfouT " steal 5 stealest." (2) The salutary effect of such instruction 
days. waSj no t on ]y t correct a vice which was then very prevalent, 
but, also, to repress turbulent altercations, and other causes of 
mischief, which generally grow out of theft. It is a melancho- 
ly truth, that in these our days men are unhappily addicted to 
the same vice : the peace of society is still frequently disturb- 
ed by the mischiefs and calamities consequent to theft ; and 
the pastor, therefore, following the example of the Holy Fa- 
thers, and the masters of Christian discipline, will urge this 
point, and will explain with care and assiduity the force and 
meaning of this commandment. 
This com- In the first place, the care, diligence and industry of the pas- 

(1) Exod. xx. 15. (2) Rom. ii. 21. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 391 

tor will be exercised in unfolding the infinite love of God to mandment, 
man : not satisfied with having fenced around our lives, our the'love of 
persons, our reputation, by means of these two commandments, Jj^fJi 
" thou shalt not kill," " thou shalt not commit adultery;" heandaclaim 
defends, and, as it were, places a guard over our property, by° t " t °de gra " 
adding the prohibition, " Thou shalt not steal." Other mean- 
ing these words cannot have than that which has been already 
mentioned in expounding the other commandments : they de- 
clare that God forbids our worldly goods, which are placed 
under his sovereign protection, to betaken away or injured by 
any one. (3) Our gratitude to God, its author, should, then, be 
proportioned to the magnitude of the benefit conferred on us 
by this law ; and, as the truest test of gratitude, and the best of 
means of returning thanks to God, consists not alone in lending 
a willing ear to his precepts, but, also, in putting forth in our 
lives practical evidence of our sincere approval of them, the 
faithful are to be animated and inflamed to a strict observance 
of this commandment. 

Like the former precepts, this also divides itself into two parts: Division of 
the one, which prohibits theft, is mentioned expressly ; of the mandment 
other, which enforces kindliness and liberality, the spirit and 
force are implied in the former. We shall therefore begin 
with the first: "Thou shalt not steal." It is to be observed, "Theft," 
that by the word " theft" is understood not only the taking f. m lon 
away of any thing from its rightful owner, privately and with- 
out his consent ; but also, the possession of that which belongs 
to another, contrary to the will, although not without the know- 
ledge, of the true owner. That the detention of the property 
of another, under these circumstances, constitutes theft is un- 
deniable, unless we are prepared to say, that he who prohibits 
theft does not also prohibit rapine, which is accomplished by 
violence and injustice ; whereas, according to S. Paul, " ex- 
" tortioners shall not possess the kingdom of God ;" (4) and 
the same Apostle declares, that extortion of every sort is to be 
avoided. (5) 

Although rapine, which, besides the deprivation of his pro- "Rapine" 

(3) Vid. D. Thorn. 1. 2. q. 100. art. 3. & 2. 2. q. 122. art. 6. 

(4) 1 Cor. vi. 10. 

(5) Vid. Aug. q. 71. in Exod. & citalur. 32. q. 4. c. meretrices. 



392 THE CATECHISM OF 

a more perty, offers a violent outrage to the injured party, and subjects 

crime than him to insult and contumely, is a more grievous sin than theft, 

latter wh° (^) y et ^ cannot ^ e matter of surprise, nor is it without good 

mentioned reason, that the divine prohibition is expressed under the light- 

mandment er name of " theft," not under the heavier one of " rapine ;" 

theft is more general and of wider extent than rapine ; a crime 

of which they alone can be guilty, who are superior to their 

neighbour in brute force. It is obvious, however, that when 

lesser crimes are forbidden, greater enormities of the same 

sort are also prohibited. (7) 

Different The unjust possession and use of what belongs to another 

tionsof na " are expressed by different names. To take any thing private 

theft &. from a private individual is called " theft ;" from the public, 

III. peculation : to enslave and appropriate the freeman or servant 

of another is called "man-stealing;" to steal any thing sacred is 

IV * called " sacrilege ;" a crime the most enormous and sinful of 

all, yet so common in our days, that what piety and wisdom 

had appropriated to the divine worship, to the support of the 

ministers of religion, and to the use of the poor, is employed in 

satisfying the cravings of individual avarice, and converted into 

a means of ministering to the worst passions. 

A desire of j}^ besides actual theft, the will and desire are also forbid- 

hibited. den by the lav/ of God : the law is spiritual : it regards the soul, 

the principle of our thoughts and designs: "From the heart," 

says our Lord, " come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, 

" fornications, thefts, false testimonies." (8) 

Grievous- The grievousness of the sin of theft is sufficiently seen by the 

ness of the \\aht f natural reason alone : it is a violation of iustice which 

sin of theft ° J 

I. gives to every man his own. In order that every man, unless 
we dissolve all human society, may securely possess what he 
has justly acquired ; it is necessary that stability be given to the 
distribution and allotment of property, fixed, as it has been, by 
the law of nations from the origin of society, and confirmed 
by human and divine laws. Hence these words of the Apos- 
tle, " Neither thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor rail- 
" ers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God." (9) 

(6) 1 Cor. v. 10. 

0) Vid. D. Thorn, c. 2. 66. art. 4. & 9. item 14, q. 4. c. poenale. 

(8) Matth. xv. 19. (9) 1 Cor. vi. 10: 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 393 

The long train of evils, however, which theft entails upon so- H- 
ciety, are an attestation at once of its mischievousness and 
enormity. It gives rise to hasty and rash judgments : it engen- 
ders hatred : originates enmities ; and sometimes subjects the 
innocent to cruel condemnation. 

What shall we say of the necessity imposed by God on all ^ e d c «*jjy 
of satisfying for the injury done ? " Without restitution," says eulty of 
S. Augustine, "the sin is not forgiven." (10) The difficulty restitution ' 
of making such restitution, on the part of those who have been 
in the habit of enriching themselves with their neighbour's 
property, we may learn not only from experience and reflec- 
tion, but also from the testimony of the prophet Habacuc : 
" Wo to him that heapeth together what is not his own. How 
"long also doth he load himself with thick clay ?" (11) The 
possession of other men's property, the prophet calls " thick 
" clay," from which it is difficult to emerge and disengage one- 
self. 

Such is the variety of thefts, that it is difficult to enumerate Different 
them : to theft and rapine, however, as to their sources, all th e ft.° 
others may be traced ; and the exposition of these two will *• 
therefore suffice. To inspire the faithful with a detestation of 
them, and to deter from such enormities, are objects which 
will engage all the care and assiduity of the pastor. But to 
proceed — They who buy stolen goods, or retain the property 
of others, whether found, seized on, or pilfered, are also guil- 
ty of theft : " If you have found, and not restored," says S. Au- 
gustine, " you have stolen." (12) If the true owner cannot, 
however, be discovered, whatever is found should go to the 
poor; (13) and if the finder refuse to yield it up for their use, 
he gives evident proof, that, were it in his power, he would 
make no scruple of stealing to any extent. Those who in u # 
buying or selling, have recourse to fraud, and lying words, 
involve themselves in the same guilt : the Lord will avenge 
their frauds. But those who for good and sound merchandize 
sell bad and unsound, or who defraud by weight, measure, 

(10) Epist. liv. (ll)Habac. ii. 6. 

(12) Lib. 50. hom. Horn. 9. & de verbis Apost. scrm. 19. 

(13) It is unnecessary to remind the learned reader that human laws may 
affect this decision. — T. 

50 



394 



THE CATECHISM OF 



III. 



VI. 



VII. 



Note. 



Different 
sorts of 
rapine. 



number, or rule, are guilty of a species of theft still more crimi- 
nal and unjust: it is written, "Thou shalt not have divers 
"weights in thy bag:" (14) "Do not any unjust thing," says 
Leviticus, " in judgment, in rule, in weight or in measure. 
" Let the balance be just, and the weights equal, the bushel 
"just, and the sextary equal;" (15) to which passages we may 
add these words of Solomon : " Divers weights are an abomi- 
" nation before the Lord : a deceitful balance is not good." 
(16) 

It is, also, a downright theft, when labourers and artizans 
exact full wages from those, to whom they have not given just 
and due labour ; nor are unfaithful servants and stewards any 
other than thieves ; nay they are more detestable than other 
thieves, against whom every thing may be locked; whilst 
against a pilfering servant nothing in a house can be secure by 
bolt or lock. They, also, who extort money under false pre- 
tences, or by deceitful words, may be said to steal, and their 
guilt is aggravated by adding falsehood to theft. Persons 
charged with offices of public or private trust, who altogether 
neglect or but indifferently perform the duties, whilst they en- 
joy the emoluments of such offices^ are also to be reckoned in 
the number of thieves. To detail the various other modes of 
theft, invented by the ingenuity of avarice, which is versed in 
all the arts of gleaning together the fruits of injustice, were a 
tedious and complicated enumeration. The pastor, therefore, 
will next come to treat of the other general head, to which 
sins prohibited by this commandment are reducible; first, 
however, admonishing the faithful, to bear in mind the precept 
of the Apostle : " They that will become rich fall into tempta- 
" tion, and the snare of the devil;" (17) and also the words of 
the Redeemer : " All things whatsoever you will that men do 
" to you, do you also to them ;" (18) and finally the admonition 
of Tobias : " See thou never do to another what thou wouldst 
" hate to have done to thee by another." 

Rapine is more comprehensive than theft : those who pay not 
the labourer his hire are guilty of rapine, and are exhorted to 



(14)Deut. xxv. 13. 
(17) 1 Tim. vi. 9. 



(15) Lev. xix. 35, 36. 
(18)Matth. vii. 12. 



(16)Prov. xx. 23. 
(19)Tob. iv. 26. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 395 

repentance by S. James in these words : " Go to now ye rich 
" men, weep and howl for your miseries which shall come upon 
" you :" He subjoins the cause of their repentance ; " Behold," 
says he, " the hire of the labourers, who Jiave reaped down 
" your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, 
" crieth ; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the 
" Lord of Sabaoth." (20) This sort of rapine is condemned 
in terms of the strongest reprobation in Leviticus, (21) Deu- 
teronomy, (22) Malachy, (23) and Tobias. (24) Amongst those n. 
who are guilty of rapine are also included persons who do not 
pay, who turn to other uses or appropriate to themselves, cus- 
toms, taxes, tythes, and such revenues, which are the property 
of those who preside over the Church, or of the civil magis- 
trate. 

To this class also belong usurers, the most cruel and relent- _, J 11 - 
less of extortioners, who, by their usurious practices, plunder . 
and destroy the poor. Whatever is received above the prin- 
ciple, be it money, or any thing else that may be purchased or 
estimated by money, is usury ; for it is written in Ezekiel : 
" Thou hast taken usury and increase ;" (25) and in Luke our 
Lord says : " Lend, hoping for nothing thereby." (26) Even 
amongst the Gentiles usury was always considered a most griev- 
ous and odious crime ; and hence the question, " What is usu- 
" ry ?" which was answered by asking, " What is murder ?" 
The reason why it was thus characterised is, that he who lends 
at usury sells the same thing twice, or sells that which has no 
real existence. (27) 

Corrupt judges, whose decisions are venal, and who, bought TV. 
over by money or other bribes, decide against the poor and the 
necessitous, however good their cause, also commit rapine. 
Those who defraud their creditors, who deny their just debts, V. 
and, also, those who purchase goods on their own, or on ano- 
ther's credit, with an engagement to pay for them at a certain 
time, and do not redeem their pledge, are guilty of the same 

(20) James, v. i. 4. (21) Lev. xix. 13. (22) Deut. xxiv. 1, 4. 

(23) Mai. iii. 5. (24) Tob. iv. 15. 

(25) Ezek. xxii. 12. and xviii. S. f26) Luke, ri. 35. 

(27) De usura vid. 14. q. 1. & q. 4. passim, vid. item titulum de usuris in 
Decretalibus & D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 78. item Amb. lib. de Tob. c. 14. 



396 THE CATECHISM OF 

crime of rapine ; and it is an aggravation of their guilt, that, in 
consequence of their want of punctuality and their fraud, prices 
are raised, to the no small injury of the public. To such per- 
sons David alludes, when he says : " The sinner shall borrow 
" and not pay again." (28) 
VI. But, in what language of abhorrence shall we speak of those, 
who, themselves abounding in wealth, exact with rigour what 
they lend to the poor, who have not wherewithall to pay them ; 
and who take as pledges even the necessary covering of their 
wretched applicants, in defiance of the divine prohibition : " If 
" thou take of thy neighbour a garment in pledge, thou shalt 
" give it him again before sunset, for that same is the only thing 
" wherewith he is covered, the clothing of his body, neither 
" hath he any other to sleep in : if he cry to me I will hear him, 
"because I am compassionate. (29) Their rigorous exaction 
is justly termed " rapacity," and is therefore rapine. (30) 
VII. Amongst those whom the Holy Fathers pronounced guilty 
of rapine are persons who, in times of scarcity, store up their 
corn, thus producing a dearth ; and this also holds good with 
regard to all necessaries for food, and the purposes of life. 
These are they against whom Solomon hurls this execration, 
" He that hideth up corn, shall be cursed among the people." 
(31) Such persons the pastor will admonish of their guilt, 
and will reprove with more than ordinary freedom; and to them 
he will explain at large the punishments which await such de- 
linquency. 
Positive So far for the negative part of the precept — We now come 
precept**" 5 10 tne positive part, in which the first thing to be considered is 

restitution; satisfaction or restitution ; for without satisfaction or restitution, 

who are . . 

bound to. the sin is not forgiven. But, as the law of restitution is bind- 
ing not only on the person who commits theft, but also on the 
person who is a party to its commission, to determine who are 
indispensably bound to this satisfaction or restitution is a mat- 
ter which demands explanation. These form a variety of 
I. classes. The first ("imperantes") consists of those who or- 
der others to steal, and who are not only the authors and 

(28) Ps. xxxvi. 21. (29) Exod. xxii. 26, 27. 

(30) Titulum habcs de pignor, in Decretal, lib. 3. tit. 21. vid. Amb. lib. 5. de 
offic. c. 6. (31) Prov. xi. 26. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 397 

accomplices of theft, but also the most criminal in its commis- 
sion. Another class (" suasores") embraces those, who, like n. 
the former in will, but unlike them in power, are equally cul- 
pable ; who, when they cannot command, persuade and encou- 
rage others to commit theft. A third class (" consentientes") IIL 
is composed of those who are a consenting party to the theft 
committed by others. The fourth class (" participantes") is IV. 
that of those who are accomplices in and derive gain from 
theft; if that can be called gain, which, unless they repent, 
consigns them to everlasting torments. Of them David says : 
" If thou didst see a thief, thou didst run with him." (32) The V. 
fifth class of thieves (" non prohibentes") are those who, hav- 
ing it in their power to prohibit theft, so far from opposing 
or preventing it, fully and freely suffer and sanction its com- 
mission. The sixth class (" non indicantes") is constituted of VI. 
those who are well aware that the theft was committed, and 
when it was committed ; and yet so far from discovering it, 
are as silent on the subject as if it had never occurred. The 
seventh and last (" custodes") comprises all who assist in VII. 
the accomplishment of theft, who guard, patronise, receive or 
harbour thieves ; all of whom are bound to make restitution 
to those from whom any thing has been stolen, and are to be- 
earnestly exhorted to the discharge of so necessary a duty. 
Neither are those who approve (" approbantes") and com- VIII.&IX. 
mend thefts entirely innocent of this crime : children also and 
wives who steal from their parents and husbands are not guilt- 
less of theft. 

This commandment also implies an obligation to sympathise To relieve 
with the poor and the necessitous, and to relieve them under ^ e neces " 

r ' sitous, an 

their difficulties and distresses from the means with which we obligation 
have been blessed, and by rendering them the good offices [wscom- 7 
which charity inculcates. On this subject, which cannot be mandment 
urged too frequently or copiously, the pastor will find abun- 
dant matter to enrich his discourses in the works of those very 
holy men, S. Cyprian, (33) S. Chrysostom,(34)S. Gregory Na- 

(32) Ps, xlix. 18. (33) Cypr. lib. de opera et eleemosyn. 

(34) Chrysost. hom. 32. ad pop. Antioch. et honi. 33. et 31. in Matth. vid, 
etiam hom. 16. 37. ad pop. Antioch. 



398 THE CATECHISM OF 

zianzen, (35) and other eminent writers on alms-deeds. It is 
theirs to inspire the faithful with an anxious desire and a cheer- 
ful willingness to succour the distresses of those,who depend for 
a precarious subsistence on the bounteous compassion of others. 

Alms- The necessity of alms-deeds should also form the subject 

deeds. 

matter of the pastor's instructions : the faithful are to be 

strongly impressed with the obligation imposed on them of 
being really and practically liberal to the poor; and to this 
effect the pastor will urge the overwhelming argument that, 
on the day of final retribution, the Judge of the living and the 
dead will hurl against the uncharitable man the indignant sen- 
tence of irrevocable condemnation ; and will invite in the lan- 
guage of eulogy, and introduce into his heavenly country, 
those who have exercised mercy towards the poor. Their 
respective sentences have been already pronounced by the lips 
of the Son of God : " Come ye blessed of my Father, possess 
"the kingdom prepared for you:" — "Depart from me ye 
" cursed into everlasting fire." (36) The pastor will also cite 
those texts of Scripture which are calculated to persuade to 
the performance of this important duty : " Give and it shall be 
" given to you." (37) He will cite the promise of God, than 
which imagination can picture no remuneration more abundant, 
none more magnificent: "There is no man who hath left house, 
" or brethren, &c. that shall not receive an hundred times as 
" much now in this time ; and in the world to come life ever- 
" lasting ;" (38) and he will add these words of our Lord : 
" Make unto yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, 
" that when you shall fail, they may receive you into ever- 
" lasting dwellings." (39) 

But the pastor will explain the different heads into which 
this duty naturally resolves itself; and will remind the faith- 
ful, that whoever is unable to give may, at least, lend to the 
poor wherewithal to sustain life, according to the command of 
Christ our Lord : " Lend, hoping for nothing thereby." (40) 
The singular happiness, which is the reward of such an exer- 
ts) Nazianz. orat. de pauperum amore. August, serm. 50. & 227. de tem- 
pore: itemhom. 18, 19, 28, 45. 

(36) Matth. xxv. 34, 41 . (37 j Luke, vi. 38. (38) Mark, x. 29, 30. 
(39) Luke, xvi. 9. (40) Luke, vi. 35. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 399 

cise of mercy, is attested by David in these words : " Accept- 
" able is the man that sheweth mercy and lendeth." (41) But 
should it not be in our power otherwise to relieve distress, to 
seek, by labour and the work of our hands, to procure the 
means of doing so is an act of benevolence, by which we at- 
tain the double purpose of avoiding idleness and of discharging 
a duty of Christian piety. To this the Apostle exhorts all by 
his own example : " For yourselves," says he, writing to the 
Thessalonians, " know how you ought to imitate us ;" (42) and 
again, " Use your endeavour to be quiet, and that you do your 
" own business, and work with your own hands, as we com- 
" manded you ;" (43) and to the Ephesians : " He that stole, 
" let him steal no more ; but rather let him labour working with 
" his hands the thing which is good, that he may have some- 
" thing to give to him that sufFereth need." (44) 

We should also practise frugality, and draw sparingly on Frugality 
the kindness of others, that we may not be a burden or a trou- mended, 
ble to them. This exercise of temperance is conspicuous in 
all the Apostles, but preeminently so in S. Paul : writing to the 
Thessalonians he says : " You remember, brethren, our labour 
" and toil ; working night and day lest we should be chargea- 
ble to any of you, we preached amongst you the Gospel of 
" God ;" (45) and again : " In labour and in toil we worked 
" night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you." 
(46) 

To inspire the faithful with an abhorrence of all sins against Scriptural 
this commandment, the pastor will recur to the prophets and 
the other inspired writers, to show the detestation in which God 
holds the crimes of theft and rapine, and the awful threats 
which he denounces against their perpetrators : " Hear this," 
exclaims the prophet Amos, " you that crush the poor, and 
" make the needy of the land to fail, saying, when will the 
" month be over, and we shall sell our wares, and the Sabbath, 
" and we shall open the corn ; that we may lessen the measure, 
" and increase the sickle, and may convey in deceitful balan- 
" ces ?" (47) Many passages in Jeremiah, (48) Proverbs, (49) 

(41) Ps. cxi. 5. (42) 2 Thess. iii. 7. (43) 1 Thess. iv. 1 1. 

(44) Eph. iv. 28. (45) 1 Thess. ii. 9. (46) 2 Thess. iii. 8. 

(41) Amos, viii. 4, 5. (48) Jerem. v. & xxi. & xxii. (49) Prov. xxi. 



400 THE CATECHISM OF 

and Ecclesiasticus, (50) breathe the same spirit; and these, 
doubtless, are the seeds from which have sprung great part of 
the evils, which in our times overspread the face of society. 
Liberality That Christians may accustom themselves to acts of gene- 
rosity and kindness towards the poor and the mendicant, an 
exercise of benevolence inculcated by the second part of this 
commandment, the pastor will place before them those ample 
rewards which God promises, in this life and in the next, to 
the beneficent and the bountiful. 

Excuses of B u t as there are not wanting those who would even excuse 
theft. ' ° 

I. their thefts, they are to be admonished that God will accept no 

excuse for sin ; and that their excuses, far from extenuating, 
serve only to aggravate, their guilt. How insufferable the per- 
versity of those men of exalted rank, who stand excused in 
their own eyes by alleging, that, if they strip others of what be- 
longs to them, they are actuated not by cupidity or avarice, 
but by a desire to maintain the grandeur of their families, and 
the station of their ancestors, whose estimation and dignity 
must fall, if not upheld by the accession of another man's pro- 
perty. Of this mischievous error they are to be disabused ; 
and are to be convinced, that to obey the will of God and ob- 
serve his commandments is the only means to preserve and 
augment their wealth, and to enhance the glory of their ances- 
tors. His will and commandments once contemned, the sta- 
bility of property, no matter how securely settled, is overturn- 
ed ; kings are dethroned, and hurled from the highest pinna- 
cle of earthly grandeur ; whilst the humblest individuals in so- 
ciety, men towards whom they cherished the most implacable 
hatred, are sometimes called by God to occupy the thrones, 
which their rapacity had forfeited. The intensity of the di- 
vine wrath, kindled by such cruel injustice, God himself de- 
clares in these words, which are recorded in Isaias : " Thy 
" princes are faithless, companions of thieves ; they all love 
" bribes ; they run after rewards. Therefore, saith the Lord, 
" the God of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel : Ah ! I will 
" comfort myself over my adversaries ; and I will be revenged 

(50) Eccl. x. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 401 

" of my enemies ; and I will turn my hand to thee, and I will 
" clean purge away thy dross." (51) 

Some there are, who plead in justification of such conduct, II. 
not the ambition of maintaining hereditary splendor and ances- 
tral glory, but a desire of acquiring the means of living in 
greater ease, affluence and elegance. Such false excuses are 
also to be exposed and refuted : they are to be taught how im- 
pious is the conduct, how unacceptable to God the prayers, of 
those who prefer any earthly advantage to the will and the 
glory of God ; and are to be made sensible of the magnitude 
of the offence, offered to him, by a neglect of his precepts. 
And yet what real advantage can there be in theft ? Of how Note, 
many very heavy curses is it not the source ? " Confusion and 
" repentance," says Ecclesiasticus, " is upon a thief." (52) 
But, suppose no temporal punishment to overtake the thief, 
does he not offer an insult to the divine name ? does he not op- 
pose the most holy will of God ? does he not contemn his salu- 
tary precepts ? is not this contempt of the divine precepts the 
source of all the error, and all the dishonesty, and all the im- 
piety, which inundate the world ? 

But, do we not sometimes hear the thief contend that he is III. 
not guilty of sin, because, forsooth, he steals from the rich 
and the wealthy, who, in his mind, clo not even perceive, not 
to say, suffer injury from the loss ? Such an excuse is as 
wretched as its tendency is baneful. Others imagine that they IV. 
should be acquitted of guilt, because they have contracted such 
a habit of stealing, as not to be able to gain an easy victory 
over the passion, or to desist from the practice. If such per- 
sons listen not to the admonition of the Apostle : " He that stole, 
" let him now steal no more," (53) let them recollect the aw- 
ful punishment that awaits their obstinacy in crime, nothing 
less than eternity of torments. — Some excuse themselves by V. 
saying that it was impossible to resist the seasonable opportu- 
nity that presented itself: the proverb is trite; " those who are 
-' not thieves, are made so by opportunity." Such persons are 

(51) Vid. Trid. sess. 22. decret. de reform, cap. 11. item Cone. Aurel. 3. c. 
13. 22. Paris. 1. c. 1. Turon. 2. c. 26. Aurel. 5. c . 15. Mogunt. cap. 6. 11, 
Worm. c. 75. Aquisgr. c. 38. vid. & 1. 2. q. 2. variis in capit. 

(52; Eccl. v. 17. (53 ) Eph. iv. 28. 

51 



402 THE CATECHISM OF 

to be dissuaded and deterred from such wickedness, by re- 
minding them that it is our duty to resist every evil propensi- 
ty : were we to yield instant obedience to the impulse of inor- 
dinate desire, what measure, what limits to the most criminal 
and flagitious excesses ? Such an excuse, therefore, is mark- 
ed by more than ordinary turpitude, or rather is an avowal of 
unbridled licentiousness and unrestrained injustice. To say 
that you do not commit sin, because you have no opportunity of 
sinning, is almost to acknowledge, that you are always prepar- 

VI. ed to sin when opportunity offers. — There are some who say 
that they steal in order to gratify revenge, having themselves 
suffered the same injury from others. In answer to such of- 
fenders, the pastor will urge the unlawfulness of returning in- 
jury for injury ; that no person can be a judge in his own cause ; 
and that still less can it be lawful to punish one man for the 
crimes of another. 

VII. Finally, some find a sufficient justification of theft in their 
own embarrassments, alleging that they are overwhelmed with 
debt, which they cannot pay off otherwise than by theft. Such 
persons should be given to understand, that no debt presses 
more heavily than that from which, each day of our lives, we 
pray to be released in these words of the Lord's Prayer : 
" Forgive us our debts ;" (54) and to swell the debt which we 
owe to God, in order to liquidate that which is due to man, is 
the extreme of infatuation. It is much better to be consigned 
to an earthly prison than to be cast into the prison of hell : it is 
a far greater evil to be condemned by the judgment of God, 
than by that of man ; nor should it be forgotten, that, under 
such trying circumstances, it becomes our duty to have re- 
course to the assistance and mercy of God, that, in his good- 
ness, he may relieve us from all our difficulties. 

Other excuses are also preferred, which the judicious and 
zealous pastor will not find it difficult to meet ; that thus he 
may one day be blessed with a people, " followers of good 
"works." (55) 

(54) Matth. vi. 12. (55) Tit. ii. 14. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 403 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



"THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY 
NEIGHBOUR." (1) 

The great utility, nay the absolute necessity, of bestowinglmportance 
serious attention on the exposition of this commandment, and ceptfSa 6 " 
of impressing upon the minds of the faithful the obligation f* 1 "*"? 
which it enforces, we learn from these words of S. James : motive of 
" If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man ;" f r God. * 
and again, " The tongue is indeed a little member, and boast- 
« eth great things. Behold how small a fire what a great wood 
"it kindleth, &c." (2) From these words of S. James we learn 
two salutary truths : the one, that the vice of the tongue is of 
great extent, a truth which derives additional confirmation from 
these words of the prophet, " Every man is a liar ;" (3) whence 
this moral disease would seem to be almost the only one which 
extends to all mankind : the other, that the tongue is the source 
of innumerable evils. Through its wicked instrumentality are 
often lost the property, the character, the life, the salvation of 
the injured person, or of him who inflicts the injury ; of the in- 
jured person, whose feelings, impatient ofcontroul, impotently 
avenge the contumely flung upon them ; of the person who in- 
flicts the injury, because, deterred by a perverse shame and a 
false idea of what is called honor, he cannot be induced to sat- 
isfy the wounded feelings of him whom he has offended. 
Hence, the faithful are to be exhorted to pour out their souls Note. 
in thanksgiving to God, for a commandment of such salutary 
tendency, a commandment which not only forbids us to injure 
others, but also, on the same principle of obedience to its dic- 
tate, forbids others to injure us. 

In its exposition we shall proceed as we have done with re- This pre- 
gard to the others, pointing out in it two laws, the one prohibit- datoryand 
ing to bear false witness ; the other commanding us, having laid P rohibitor y 

(1) Exod. xx. 16. (2) James, iii. 2, 5. (3) Ps. cxv. 11. 



404 THE CATECHISM OF 

aside all dissimulation and deceit, to measure our words and 
actions by the standard of truth ; a duty of which the Apostle 
admonishes the Ephesians in these words : " Doing the truth 
" in charity, let us grow up in all things in him." (4) 
W1 h : ht t With regard to the prohibitory part of this commandment, 
although by false testimony is understood whatever is positive- 
ly but falsely affirmed of any one, be it for or against him, be 
it in a public court or be it not ; yet the commandment special- 
ly prohibits that species of false testimony, which is given on 
oath in a court of justice ; because, the words of a person who 
thus solemnly takes God to witness, pledging his holy name 
for his veracity, have very great weight, and possess the strong- 
est claim to credit. Such testimony, therefore, because dan- 
gerous, is specially prohibited. When no legal exceptions can 
be taken against a sworn witness, and when he cannot be con- 
victed of palpable dishonesty and wickedness, even the judge 
himself cannot reject his testimony, especially as it is command- 
ed by divine authority, that "in the mouth of two or three wit- 
" nesses every word shall stand." (5) 
Whoisour In order that the faithful may have a clear comprehension of 
"bou?"" tn * s commandment, the pastor will explain who is our " neigh- 
unlawful « bour," against whom it is unlawful to bear false witness. Ac- 
false testi- cording to the interpretation of Christ the Lord, our neighbour 
Gainst * s ^ e w ^° wants our assistance, whether bound to us by 
ourselves, ties of kindred or not, whether a fellow-citizen or a stranger, a 
friend or an enemy. (6) To suppose it lawful to give false 
evidence against an enemy, whom by the command of God and 
of our Lord we are bound to love, were an error of the worst 
description. Moreover, as in the order of charity every man 
is bound to love himself, and is thus, in some sense, his own 
neighbour, it is unlawful for any one to bear false witness against 
himself; he who does so is guilty of a suicidal act, and. like 
the suicide, brands himself with infamy and disgrace, and in- 
flicts a deep wound on himself and on the church of which he 
is a member. This is the doctrine of S. Augustine : " To 
" those," says he, " who understand the precept properly, it can- 

(4) Eph. iv. 15. (5) Deut. xix. 15. Matth. xviii. 16. 

(6) Luke, x. 36 & seq. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 405 

" not appear lawful to give false testimony against one's self, 
" because the words * against thy neighbour' are subjoined in 
" the commandment : the standard of loving our neighbour is 
" the love which we cherish towards ourselves ; and, there- 
" fore, as it is prohibited to bear false witness against our neigh- 
bour, it must also be prohibited to bear false witness against 
" ourselves." (7) 

But if we are forbidden to injure, let it not be inferred that Forbidden 
J ' to give 

we are therefore at liberty to serve our neighbour, by false tes- false testi- 

timony, however dear the relation in which he may stand to- or deJto 
wards us. We cannot compromise truth to consult for the serve an y 
feelings or the interests of any man. Hence, S. Augustine to I. 
Crescentius teaches from the words of the Apostle, that a lie, 
although uttered in unmerited commendation of any one, is to 
be numbered amongst false testimonies. Treating of that pas- 
sage of the Apostle : " Yea, and we are found false witnesses 
" of God, because we have given testimony against God, that 
" he hath raised up Christ whom he hath not raised, if the dead 
" rise not again," (8) he says : " The Apostle calls it false tes- 
" timony to utter a lie with regard to Christ, although it seems 
" to redound to his praise." (9) It also not unfrequently hap- II- 
pens, that by favoring one party we injure the other : false tes- 
timony is certainly the occasion of misleading the judge, who, 
yielding to such7evidence, is sometimes obliged to decide 
against justice, to the injury of the innocent. The successful ni. 
party, who has gained his suit by means of perjured witnesses, 
emboldened by impunity, and exulting in his iniquitous victo- 
ry, is soon familiarised to the work of corruption and to the 
practice of subornation ; and ultimately becomes so depraved, 
as to entertain a hope of attaining his ends, however iniquitous 
they may be, through the same wicked instrumentality. To 
the witness himself it must be a source of the most painful un- 
easiness, to be conscious that his falsehood and perjury are 
known to him by whom he has been purchased, and who has 
turned them to his own account ; yet, encouraged by success, 
he becomes every day more practised ; his mind is familiaris- 

(7) Lib. 2. de civit. Dei. c. 20. (8) 1 Cor. xv. 15, 

(9) Ad Crescentium. cap. 12, 13, 14. 



406 THE CATECHISM OF 

ed to its own audacious impiety ; and his conscience is callous 
to all feelings of remorse. This precept, then, prohibits de- 
ceit and perjury on the part of witnesses; and the same pro- 
hibition extends also to plaintiffs, defendants and advocates, to 
relations and friends, to solicitors ; in a word, to all who have 
any concern in suits at law. 
All false Finally, God prohibits all testimony which may inflict inju- 
lies &c. r y or injustice, be it matter of legal evidence or not. In Levit- 
Bt "ri?t d * cus ' w ^ ere tne commandments are repeated, we read : " Thou 
" shalt not steal ; thou shalt not lie ; neither shall any man de- 
ceive his neighbour." (10) To none, therefore, can it be 
matter of doubt, that this commandment condemns lies of eve- 
ry sort, as these words of David explicitly declare : " Thou 
" wilt destroy all that speak a lie." (11) 
It also pro- This commandment forbids not only false testimony, but, also, 
traction, the detestable propensity and practice of detraction; a moral pes- 
tilence, which is the poisoned source of innumerable and calam- 
itous evils. This vicious habit of secretly reviling and calum- 
niating character is reprobated in almost every page of the Sa- 
cred Scriptures : " With him," says David, " I would not eat ;" 

(12) and S. James: "Detract not one another my brethren." 

(13) The inspired Volume abounds not only with precepts on 
the subject, but, also, with examples which declare the enor- 

Illustra- m ^y °f the vice of detraction. Haman, by a crime of his own 
tion. invention, had incensed Assuerus against the Jews ; and the 

consequence of the calumny was a royal mandate for the de- 
struction of an unoffending people. (14) Innumerable examples, 
which illustrate the same wicked tendency,, of the sins of ca- 
lumny and detraction, are to be found in the pages of sacred 
history ; and these the pastor will adduce, to deter his people 
from a crime of such magnitude. 
Various But, to see in its full light the deformity of this sin, we must 
detraction know, that reputation is injured not only by calumniating the 
and calum- character, but, also, by exaggerating the faults, of others. He 
I. & II. who gives publicity to the secret sin of any man, at a time, in 
a place, or before persons, in which, or before whom, the mis- 

(10) Lev. xix. 11. (11) Ps. v. 7. (12) Ps. c. 5. 

(13) James, iv. 1 1. (14) Esth. 13. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 407 

chievous communication is unnecessary, incurs the just imputa- 
tion of a detractor and a slanderer. 

But, of all sorts of calumnies the worst is that which is le- in. 
veiled against the Catholic doctrine and its teachers : persons Iv - 
who extol the propagators of error and of unsound doctrine 
are involved in similar criminality ; nor are those to be disso- 
ciated from their number, or their guilt, who, instead of re- 
proving, lend a willing ear, and a cheerful assent, to the ca- 
lumniator. As we read in S. Jerome, (15) and S. Bernard, (16) 
" Whether the detractor or the listener be the more criminal, 
" it is not so easy to decide ; if there were no listeners, there 
" would be no detractors." 

To the same class of detractors belong those who continue 
to foment division, and excite dissention, and who feel a ma- 
lignant pleasure in sowing discord ; dissevering, by fiction and 
falsehood, the closest friendships : loosing the dearest social 
ties, and impelling to endless hatred and hostility the fondest 
friends. Of such pestilent characters the Lord expresses his 
detestation in these words : " Thou shalt not be a detractor nor 
" a whisperer among the people." (17) Of this description 
were many of the advisers of Saul, who strove to alienate his 
affection from, and to exasperate his enmity against, David. (18) 

Finally, amongst the transgressors of this commandment VI1, 
are to be numbered those wheedlers and sycophants, who in- 
sinuate their blandishments and hollow praises into the ears, 
and gain upon the hearts of those, after whose interest, money 
and honors they hanker ; as the prophet says, " calling good 
"evil and evil good." (19) Such characters David admonishes 
us to repel and banish from our society : " The just man," 
says he, " shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me ; 
"but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head." (20) This 
class of persons may not, it is true, speak ill of their neigh- 
bour; but they inflict on him the deepest wounds, causing him, 
by praising his vices, to continue enslaved to them to the end 
of his life. Of this species of flattery the most pernicious is Note- 
that which proposes to itself for object the injury and the ruin 

(15) S. Hieron. ep. ad Nepotianum circa finem. 

( 16) Bernard, lib. 2. de consider, ad Eugen. in fine. (11) Lev. xix. 16. 
(18) 1 Kings, xxiv. and xxvi. (19) Isa. v. 20. (20J Ps. olx. 5. 



408 THE CATECHISM OF 

of others. Saul, when to procure the death of David, he 
sought to expose him to the ruthless sword of the Philistine, 
addressed him in these soothing words : " Behold my eldest 
"daughter Merob, her will I give thee to wife; only be a 
" valiant man, and fight the battles of the Lord ;" (21) and the 
Jews thus insidiously addressed our Lord : " Master, we know 
" that thou art a true speaker, and teachest the way of God in 
" truth." (22) 
Note. Still more pernicious is the language addressed sometimes 
by friends and relations to persons laboring under a mortal 
disease, and on the point of death ; flattering them that there 
is no danger of dying, telling them to be of good spirits, dis- 
suading them from the confession of their sins, as though the 
very thought would fill them with melancholy, and, finally, 
withdrawing their attention from all concern about, and medi- 
tation upon, the dangers which beset them in their last peril- 
Note, ous hour. In a word, lies of every sort are prohibited, but a 
lie uttered against, or regarding religion, is one of extreme 
impiety. 
VIII. God is also grievously offended by those opprobrious invec- 
tives, which are termed lampoons and libels, and such con- 
tumelious slanders. (23) 
Jocose and To deceive by a jocose or officious lie, although neither 
lies C prohi- useful nor injurious to any one, is notwithstanding, altogether 
bited. unworthy of a Christian ; and of this the Apostle admonishes 
us when he says : " Putting away lying, speak ye the truth." 
Evil of (24) This vile practice begets a strong tendency to frequent 
and serious lying, and from jocose, men contract a habit of ut- 
tering deliberate lies, lose all character for truth, and ultimate- 
ly find it necessary, in order to gain belief, to recur to conti- 
nual swearing. 
All dissi- Finally, the first part of this commandment prohibits dis- 
prohibited. simulation. It is sinful not only to speak but to act deceitful- 
ly. Actions as well as words are signs of our ideas and sen- 
timents ; and hence our Lord, rebuking the Pharisees, fre- 

(21) 1 Kings, xviii. 17. (22) Matth. xxii. 16. 

(23) De libellis famosis vid. Bullam Pii V. 147. datam anno 1572. & Bullam 
Gregorii XIII. 4. datam eodem anno. 

(24) Eph. iv. 25. Vid. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 1 10. art. 3. & 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 409 

quently calls them " hypocrites" — So far with regard to the 
negative, which is the first part of this commandment. (25) 

We now come to explain the meaning of the second part — Mandate- 
Its nature and the obligations which it imposes demand, that the pre- 
trials be conducted on principles of strict justice and accord- ^f what S ' 
ing to law, and that men do not prejudge the cause, or usurp principles 
the right of pronouncing on its merits ; for, as the Apostle says, ducted. 
" it were unjust to judge another man's servant." (26) Such 
an assumption may lead men to decide without a sufficient 
knowledge of the case ; and of this we have an example in the 
conduct of the priests and scribes, who passed judgment on S. 
Stephen. (27) The magistrates of Philippi furnish another ex- 
ample of the same criminal conduct : " They have beaten us 
" publicly," says S. Paul, " uncondemned, men that are Ro- 
"mans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust 
" us out privately." (28) 

This commandment also requires, that the innocent be not The obli- 
condemned, nor the guilty acquitted ; and that he who is in- p 0se d on 
vested with judicial authority suffer not his judgment to beJ ud S es - 
warped by interest, or biased by hatred or partiality. This 
is the admonition addressed by Moses to the elders, whom he 
had constituted judges of the people : " judge that which is 
"just; whether he be one of your country or a stranger. 
"There shall be no difference of persons, you shall hear the 
"little as well as the great; neither shall you respect any 
" man's person, because it is the judgment of God." (29) 

With regard to an accused person, who is conscious of his On the ac- 
own guilt, when interrogated according to the forms of judi- ^| n con . 
cial process, God commands him to confess the truth. (30) s ° ious of 

t. i r • i i • t * Qeir 0Wn 

By that confession he, in some sort, bears witness to, and pro- guilt, 
claims the praise and glory of God ; and of this we have a proof 
in these words of Joshua, when exhorting Achan to confess 
the truth : " My son," says he, " give glory to the Lord the 
" God of Israel." (31) 

(25) Vid. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 211. per totam. 

(26) Rom. xiv. 4. (27) Acts, vii. 59. 

(28) Acts, xvi. 37. Vid. in 6 lib. c. tit. 7. de privileges c. 1. & ibidem lib. 
2. tit. 2. de foro competenti. (29) Deut. i. 16. 

(30) As these forms and their import differ in different countries, this decision 
is conditional, and does not apply to the practice of our Courts of justice. — T. 

(31) Josh. vii. 19. Vid. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 96. per totos quatuor articulos. 

52 



410 THE CATECHISM OF 

On wit- B u t ? as this commandment chiefly regards witnesses, the 
bound to pastor will also give to it, in this point of view, a due share of 
whole 8 attention. The spirit of the precept goes not only to prohibit 
truth. false, but also to enforce the obligation of giving true, evidence. 
In human affairs, to bear testimony to the truth is a matter of 
the highest importance, because there are innumerable things 
of which we must be ignorant, unless we arrive at a know- 
ledge of them on the faith of witnesses. In matters with which 
we are not personally acquainted, and which, however, we 
have occasion to know, what so important as true evidence? 
on this subject we have the recorded sentiments of S. Augus- 
tine : " He who conceals the truth, and he who utters falsehood, 
" are both guilty ; the one, because he is unwilling to render a 
" service ; the other, because he has the will to render a dis- 
" service." (32) We are cot, however, at all times, and un 
der all circumstances, obliged to disclose the truth ; but when, 
in a court of justice, a witness is legally interrogated, he is 
Note, bound to tell " the whole truth." Here, however, witnesses 
should be most circumspect, lest, trusting too much to memo- 
ry, they affirm for certain what they have not fully ascertain- 
ed. 
On solid- Solicitors and counsel, plaintiffs and defendants, remain still 

tors and j. Q ^ e treated of. The former will not refuse to contribute 

counsel. 

their services and legal assistance, when the necessities of oth- 
ers call for their interposition. In such circumstances, human- 
ity will prompt them to plead the cause of suffering innocence, 
and a love of justice will prevent them from engaging in the de- 
fence of an unjust cause. They will not protract by cavils, or en- 
courage through avarice, suits at law; and as to remuneration, 
in that they will be regulated by the principles of justice and 

On plain- of equity. (33) Plaintiffs and accusers are to be admonished, 

fndants 5 " to av0 ^ creating danger to any one by unjust charges, yield- 
ing to the influence of love, or hatred, or any other undue mo- 
tive. Finally, to all conscientious persons is addressed the di- 
vine command, in all their intercourse with society, in every 
conversation, to speak the truth at all times from the sincerity 

(S2) Hbbc sententia citabatur olim a Gratiano ex Aug. sed apud Aug. non est 
inventa: similiter legitur apud Isid. 1. 3. c. 59. 

(33) Vid. 14. q. 5. c. non sane D. Thom. 2. 2. q. 71. art. 5. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 41 1 

of their hearts ; to utter nothing injurious to the character of 
another, not even of those by whom they know they have been 
injured and persecuted ; always recollecting, that so near is 
the relation that subsists between them, so close the social 
link that unites them, that they are all members of the same 
body. 

In order that the faithful may be more disposed to avoid the Wretched- 
degrading vice of lying, the pastor will place before them the JJJJjJJk 
extreme wretchedness and turpitude of the liar. In the Sa- of lying, 
cred Scriptures the devil is called « the father of lies ;" " Be- 
" cause he stood not in the truth, he is a liar and the father 
"thereof;" (34) and, to banish from amongst the faithful so H. 
great an enormity, the pastor will subjoin the mischievous 
consequences of which this vice is the impure source. These 
consequences are without number ; and the pastor, therefore, 
must be content with pointing out their principal heads. In III. 
the first place, he will inform them how grievously lies offend 
God, how deeply a liar is hated by God : " Six things there 
" are," says Solomon, " which the Lord hateth, and the se- 
" venth his soul detesteth ; haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands 
" that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked plots, 
" feet that are swift to run into mischief, a deceitful witness 
" that uttereth lies, &c." (35) The man, therefore, who is IV. 
thus the object of God's sovereign wrath, who will shelter from 
the awful punishments which hang over his devoted head ? 
Again, what more wicked, what more base than, as S. James v - 
says, "with the same tongue, by which we bless God and the 
" Father, to curse men, who are made after the likeness of 
" God, so that out of the same fountain flows sweet and bitter 
" water." (36) The tongue, which was before employed in vi. 
giving praise and glory to God, by lying treats the Author of 
truth, as far as on it depends, with ignominy and dishonor; and 
hence, liars are excluded from a participation in the bliss of 
heaven. To David asking, " Lord ! who shall dwell in thy ta- 
" bernacle ?" the Holy Spirit answers, " He that speaketh truth 
" in his heart, who hath not used deceit in his tongue." (37) 

(34) John, viii. 44. (35; Prov. vi. 16, &c. (36) James, iii. 9. 11. 
(37) Ps. xiv. 1,3. 



412 THE CATECHISM OF 

VII. Lying is also attended with this very great evil ; it is an almost 
incurable disease. The guilt of the calumniator cannot be 
pardoned, unless satisfaction be made to the calumniated per- 
son, a difficult duty to those who, as we have already observ- 
ed, are deterred from its performance by false shame, and a 
foolish idea of dignity ; and hence, he who perseveres in this 
crime, perseveres in a course which must ultimately lead to 
Note, everlasting perdition. Let no one indulge the delusive hope 
of obtaining the pardon of his calumnies or detractions, until he 
has repaired the injury which they have inflicted, be it offered 
in a court of justice, or in private and familiar conversation. 
Evil con- But the evil consequences of lying are not confined to indi- 
sequences v id ua l s : they extend to society at large. By duplicity and ly- 
ing good faith and truth, which form the closest links of hu- 
man society, are dissolved ; confusion ensues ; and men seem 
to differ in nothing from demons. 
Loquacity The pastor will also teach, that loquacity is to be avoided, 
avoided. By avoiding loquacity the other evils of the tongue will be ob- 
viated, and a preventive opposed to lying, from which loqua- 
cious persons can scarcely abstain. 
Excuses Finally, there are" those who would seek to justify their du- 
Fiars. 6 y plicity, and defend their violations of truth, on a principle of 
L prudence, alleging that they lie in season. To this erroneous 
pretext the pastor will apply the divine truth ; " The wisdom 
Note. " of the flesh is death ;" (38) he will exhort his people in all 
their difficulties and dangers to trust in God, not in the artifice 
of lying ; and will tell them that, in dangers and difficulties, to 
have recourse to subterfuge is to declare, that they trust more 
II. to their own prudence than to the providence of God. Those 
who charge others with being the cause of their speaking 
falsehood, by having first deceived them, are to be taught the 
unlawfulness of avenging their own wrongs ; that evil is not to 
be rendered for evil, but rather that evil is to be overcome by 
good. (39) Were it even lawful, it would not be our interest, 
to make such a return : the man who seeks revenge by utter- 
In - ing falsehood inflicts very serious injury on himself. Those 
who plead human frailty are to be taught, that it is a duty of 

(3S) Rom. viii. 6. (39j Rom. xii. 17, 21. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 413 

religion to implore the divine assistance, and not to yield to 
human infirmity. Those who, in excuse of their guilt, allege IV - 
habit, are to be admonished to endeavour to acquire the contra- 
ry habit of speaking the truth ; particularly as evil habit, far from 
extenuating, is an aggravation of guilt. There are some who V. 
adduce in their own justification the example of others, who, 
they contend, constantly indulge in falsehood and perjury: 
such persons are to be reminded that bad men are not to be 
imitated, but reproved and corrected ; and that, when we our- 
selves are addicted to the same vice, our admonitions have less 
influence in reprehending and correcting it in others. With v1, 
regard to those who defend their conduct by saying, that to 
speak the truth is often attended with inconvenience ; these 
the pastor will meet by urging that such an excuse is an ac- 
cusation, not a defence; whereas it is the duty of a Christian 
to suffer any inconvenience rather than utter a falsehood. 

There are two other classes of persons who seek to justify VII. 
a departure from truth ; the one who say that they tell lies for 
joke sake; the other who plead motives of interest, because, VIII. 
forsooth, without having recourse to lies, they can neither 
buy nor sell to advantage. Both the pastor will endeavour to 
reform ; the first, by urging the inveteracy of the vicious habit 
which the practice of lying begets, and by strongly impress- 
ing a truth revealed by Jesus Christ, that " for every idle 
" word that men shall speak, they shall render an account in 
"the day of judgment;" (40) The second class, whose excuse 
involves their own accusation, he will reprove with greater 
severity, professing as they do, to yield no credit or authority 
to these words of our Lord : " Seek first the kingdom of God 
" and his justice, and all these things shall be given you be- 
sides." (41) 

(40) Matth. xii. 36. (41) Matth. vi. 33. 



414 THE CATECHISM OF 



THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS. 



" THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR'S HOUSE ; NEI- 
" THER SHALT THOU DESIRE HIS WIFE, NOR HIS SERVANT, 
" NOR HIS HAND-MAID, NOR HIS OX, NOR HIS ASS, NOR ANY 
"THING THAT IS HIS."(1) 

Meaning ^ T 1S to be observed, in the first place, that these two pre- 
of these cepts, which were delivered last in order, furnish a general 

command- * . 

ments; principle for the observance of all the rest. What is com- 
c h6 in se^ ca ~ ma nded in these two amounts to this, that, to observe the pre- 
curing ceding precepts of the law, we must be particularly careful 
vance of not to covet ; because he who covets not, content with what 
the others. fo e \ ias ^ w \\\ not d es i re w hat belongs to others, but will rejoice 
in their prosperity ; will give glory to the immortal God ; will 
render to him boundless thanks ; will observe the Sabbath, 
that is, will enjoy perpetual repose ; will respect his superiors ; 
and will, in fine, injure no man in word or deed or otherwise ; 
for the root of all evil is concupiscence, which hurries its de- 
voted victims into every species of enormity. (2) These con- 
siderations, if well weighed, must serve to induce the pastor 
to explain what follows with increased diligence, and the peo- 
ple to hear his exposition with increased attention. 
These two But, although we have united these two commandments be- 
°° m* wh " cause > t ^ ie ^ r object being the same, the manner of treating them 
united : should be the same ; yet the pastor, when exhorting and ad- 
between 6 monishing the faithful, will treat them conjointly or separately, 
them. as he may deem most convenient. If, however, he has under- 
taken the exposition of the Decalogue, he will point out in 
what these two commandments are dissimilar, how one con- 
cupiscence differs from another, a difference noticed by S. Au- 
gustine, in his book of questions on Exodus. (3) The one 

(l)Exod. xx. n. 

(2) Vid. Aug. lib. 1. Retract, c. 15. & epist. 200. & lib. 9. de civitate Dei, c. 
4. &5. 

(3) Qusest. 17. in Exod. Vid. item D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 122. a. 7. ad 3. & 4. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 415 

looks only to utility and interest, the other to unlawful desire 
and criminal pleasure ; he, for instance, who covets a field or 
house, pursues profit rather than pleasure, whilst he, who co- 
vets another man's wife, yields to a desire of pleasure, not of 
profit. 

Of these two commandments the promulgation was necessa- Necessity 
ry for two reasons ; the first is to explain the sixth and seventh, promulga- 
for, although reason alone is competent to inform us, that to j 
prohibit adultery is also to prohibit the desire of another man's 
wife, because, were the desire lawful, its indulgence must be 
so too ; yet blinded by sin, many of the Jews could not be in- 
duced to believe that such desires were prohibited by God. 
Nay, even after the promulgation, and with a knowledge of this 
law, many, who professed themselves its interpreters, continu- 
ed in the same error, as we learn from these words of our Lord 
recorded in S. Matthew : " You have heard that it was said to 
" them of old : ' thou shalt not commit adultery ;' but I say to 
" you, that whosoever shall see a woman to lust after her, hath 
" already committed adultery with her in his heart." (4) The 
second reason for the promulgation of these two commandments 
is, that they distinctly, and in express terms, prohibit some 
things of which the sixth and seventh commandments contain 
but an implied prohibition. The seventh commandment, for 
instance, forbids an unjust desire or endeavour to take away 
what belongs to another ; but this prohibits even to covet it, 
on any account ; although we may, without a violation of law, 
or justice, obtain possession of that from which we know a loss 
must accrue to our neighbour. 

But, before we come to the exposition of the commandment, Wh y add_ 
the faithful are first to be informed, that by this law we are other com- 
taught not only to restrain our inordinate desires, but also to mand . menta 
know the boundless love of God towards us. By the preced- 
ing commandments, God had, as it were, fenced us round with 
safeguards, securing us and ours against injury of every sort ; 
but by the annexation of these commandments, he had for ob- 
ject principally, to provide against the injuries which we might 
inflict on ourselves by the indulgence of inordinate desires ; and 

(4) Matth. v. 28. 



416 THE CATECHISM OF 

which would follow as a natural consequence, were we at lib- 
erty to covet all things indiscriminately. By this law, then, 
which forbids to covet, God has opposed a resistance to the 
keenness of desire, which excites to every evil, but which, 
blunted in some degree by virtue of this law, is felt less acute- 
ly; that thus freed from the annoying importunity of the pas- 
sions, we may devote more time to the performance of the 
numerous and important duties of piety and religion which we 
owe to God. 
H. Nor is this the only lesson of instruction which we derive 

from this commandment : it also teaches us that this divine law 
is to be observed not only by the external performance of the 
duties which it enforces, but also by the internal concurrence 
of the mind ; so that between divine and human laws there is 
this difference, that human laws are fulfilled by an external 
compliance alone, whereas the laws of God (God sees the 
heart) require purity of heart, sincere and undefiled integrity 
of soul. The law of God, therefore, is a sort of mirror, in 
which we behold the corruption of our own nature ; and hence 
these words of the Apostle : " I had not known concupiscence, 
" if the law did not say : ' thou shalt not covet.' " (5) Concu- 
piscence, which is the fuel of sin, and which originated in sin, 
is always inherent in our fallen nature : from it we know that 
we are born in sin ; and, therefore, do we humbly fly for as- 
sistance to him, who alone can efface the stains of sin. 
These com- In common with the other commandments these also are 
p a a r " ly m p e r o. s partly mandatory, partly prohibitory. With regard to the pro- 
hibitory, hibitory part, the pastor will make known to the faithful what 

partly man- . . . 

datory. sort of concupiscence is prohibited by this law, lest some may 
£°°°" pi ~ consider that which is not sinful to be sinful, such as the con- 



wo-fold cupiscence mentioned by the Apostle, when he says ; " The 
" flesh lusteth against the spirit;" (6) and that which was the 
object of David's most earnest desires : " My soul hath coveted 
" to long for thy justifications at all times." (7) Concupiscence, 
then, is a certain commotion and impulse of the mind, urging to 
the desire of pleasures which it does not actually enjoy : and 
as the other propensities of the soul are not always sinful, nei- 

(5) Rom. vii. 7. (6) Gal. v. 17. (7) P s . C jcviii. 20. 



II. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 417 

ther is the impulse of concupiscence. It is not, for instance, 
sinful to desire meat and drink, when cold to wish for warmth, 
when warm to wish to become cool. This species of concu- 
piscence was originally implanted in the human breast by the 
Author of Nature ; but, in consequence of primeval prevarica- 
tion, it passed the limits prescribed by Nature, and became so 
depraved, that it frequently excites to the desire of those things, 
which conflict with the spirit, and are repugnant to reason. 
However, if well regulated, and kept within proper bounds, it 
is still the source of many blessings to the world. . 

In the first place, it prompts us by frequent prayer to suppli- t^^% e 
cate God, and humbly to beg of him those things, which are the first sort of 
objects of our most earnest desires. Prayer is the interpreter ° om 



of our wishes ; and did not this well regulated concupiscence L 

exist within us, Christians would not so often address the giver 

of all good gifts in prayer. It also imparts in our estimation a H. 

higher value to the gifts of God : the pleasure derived from the 

realization of our wishes, and the value which we set on the 

objects which they pursue, are proportioned to their intensity ; 

and the gratification which we thus receive from the desired III. 

object serves also to increase our devotion and gratitude to God. 

If then, it is, at any time, lawful to covet, it will be readily 

conceded, that every species of concupiscence is not forbidden. 

S. Paul, it is true, says that " concupiscence is sin ;" (8) but 

his words are to be understood in the same sense as those of 

Moses, whom he cites; (9) a sense conveyed by the Apostle 

himself, when, in his Epistle to the Galatians, he calls it " the 

" concupiscence of the flesh :" " Walk in the spirit, and you 

"shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." (10) That natural, 

well regulated concupiscence, therefore, which passes not its 

proper limits is not prohibited ; still less is that spiritual desire 

of the virtuous mind, which prompts to those things that war 

against the flesh, and to which the Sacred Scriptures exhort 

us : " Covet ye my words :" (11) Come over to me all ye 

" that desire me." (12) It is not, then, the mere motion of con- what sort 

cupiscence, directed equally, as it may be, to a good or a bad °f°°"^' 



piscencu 



(8) Rom. vii. 20. (9) Exod. xx. 17. (10) Gal. v. 16. 

(11) Wisdom, vi. 12. (12; Eccl. xxiv. 26. 

53 



418 THE CATECHISM OF 

hefted™" ob J ect ' ^ iat is prohibited by these commandments : it is the in- 
dulgence of criminal desire : which is called " the concupiscence 
" of the flesh," and " the fuel of sin," and which, when it 
sways the assent of the mind, is always sinful. That which 
the Apostle calls the " concupiscence of the flesh," is alone 
prohibited ; that is to say, those motions of corrupt desire 
which are contrary to the dictates of reason, and outstep the 
limits prescribed by God. 
Why pro- This concupiscence is condemned, either because it desires 
1 ll j " what is evil, such as adultery, drunkenness, murder and such 
heinous crimes, of which the Apostle says : " Let us not covet 
n - " evil things, as they also coveted ;" (13) or because, although 
the objects may not be bad in themselves, yet circumstances 
concur to render the desire of them criminal, when, for instance, 
they are prohibited by God or his church. We are not war- 
ranted in desiring that which it is unlawful to possess ; and 
hence, in the Old Law, it was criminal to desire the gold and 
silver from which idols were wrought, and which the Lord for- 
... bad " any one to covet." (14) Another reason why this sort of 
concupiscence is condemned is, that it has for its object that 
which belongs to another, such as a house, servant, field, wife, 
ox, ass, and many other things ; all of which, as they belong to 
This con- another, the law of God forbids us to covet. The desire alone 
^ u s ^ s ? ence of such things, when consented to, is criminal, and is numbered 
when com- amongst the most grievous sins. When the mind, yielding to 
the impulse of evil desires, is pleased with, or does not resist 
evil, sin is necessarily committed, as S. James, pointing out the 
beginning and progress of sin, teaches, when he says : " Every 
"man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn 
" away and allured : then, when concupiscence hath conceived 
" it bringeth forth sin ; but sin, when it is completed, beget- 
"eth death." (15) When, therefore, the law says: "Thou 
" shalt not covet," it means that we are to restrain our desires 
from those things which belong to others : a thirst for what be- 
longs to others is intense and insatiable : it is written : " A 

(13) 1 Cor. x. 6. (14) Deut. vii. 25, 26. 

(15) James, i. 14. Vid. D. Thorn. 1. 2. q. 4. art. 78. 8. item August. 1. 12. 
de Trinit. c. 12. item de serm. Dom. in Monte c. 23. Greg. hom. 19. in Evang. 
& 1. 4. Moral, c. 27. & in respons. 11. ad interrog. Aug. Hieron. in Amos. c. 1. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 419 

" covetous man shall not be satisfied with money ;" (16) and of 
him Isaias says : " Wo to you that join house to house, and 
"lay field to field." (17) 

But a distinct explanation of each of these words, in which Exposition 
this commandment is expressed, will place the deformity and wor d S f 
grievousness of this sin in a clearer light. The pastor, there- ^ n c d °. m " 
fore, will teach that by the word " house" is to be understood ments: 

llOUSG " 

not only the habitation in which we dwell, but, as we know whatitsig- 
from the usage of the inspired writers, the entire property of mfies - 
its owner. Thus, to signify that God had enlarged their means 
and ameliorated their condition, he is said in Exodus to have 
built houses for the mid wives. (18) From this interpretation, 
therefore, we perceive that we are forbidden to indulge an 
eager desire of riches, or to envy others their wealth, or power, 
or rank, content with our own condition, be it humble or ele- 
vated. To desire the glory won by others is also prohibited, 
and is included in the word " house." 

Next follow the words, " nor his ox nor his ass," from which «^° r jJ, S ; g 
we learn that it is unlawful to desire not only things of greater "ass." 
value, such as a house, rank, glory, because they belong to 
others : but, also, things of little value, whatever they may be, 
animate or inanimate. The words, " nor his servant," come " S g r ° r a n" . 
next, and include slaves as well as other servants, whom it is 
not less unlawful to covet than the other property of our neigh- 
bour. With regard to freemen, who, induced by wages, af- 
fection or respect, serve voluntarily, it is unlawful, by words 
or hopes, or promises, or rewards, to bribe or solicit them, un- 
der any pretext whatever, to leave those to whose service they 
have freely bound themselves ; and if, before the period of their 
engagement has expired, they leave their masters or employers, 
they are to be admonished, on the authority of this command- 
ment, to return, by all means, until they shall have completed 
their full time of service. The word " neighbour" is mentioned " -\ 
in this commandment, to mark the wickedness of those, who "bour." 
covet neighbouring tenements, lands, houses and the like, which 
lie in their immediate vicinity; for neighbourhood, which con- 
sists in friendship, is transformed by covetousness from love in- 

(16) End. v. 9. (17) lea. v. 8. (IS) Exod. i. 21. 



420 THE CATECHISM OF 

to hatred. But this commandment is by no means transgressed 
by those, who desire to purchase or have actually purchased, at 
a fair price, from a neighbour, the merchandise which he has 
for sale; instead of doing him an injury, they, on the contrary, 
render him a considerable service, because to him the money 
is much more convenient and useful than the merchandise of 
which he disposes. 
To covet The commandment, which forbids us to covet the goods of 
oar neigh- our neighbour, is accompanied with another, which forbids to 
wife, covet our neighbour's wife ; and which prohibits not only that 
of^grie^ criminal concupiscence, which tempts the adulterer to desire 
vousness th e w if e f another, but, also, the wish to be united to her in 
marriage. When, of old, a bill of divorce was permitted, it 
might easily happen, that she, who was repudiated by one 
husband, might be married to another ; but this our Lord forbad, 
lest husbands might be induced to abandon their wives, or 
wives conduct themselves with such peevish moroseness to- 
wards their husbands, as to impose on them a sort of necessi- 
ty of repudiating them. But, in the Gospel-dispensation, this 
sin acquires a deeper shade of guilt, because the wife, although 
separated from her husband, cannot marry another during his 
Note. iif e time. To him, therefore, who wishes to be united in mar- 
riage to another man's wife, the transition from one criminal 
desire to another is easy ; he will desire either the death of the 
husband or the commission of adultery. 
The same The same principle holds good with regard to females who 
ap°lka to ^ ave ^° een betrothed to another : to covet them in marriage is 
females also unlawful ; and whoever strives to dissolve the contract, 
betrothed, by which they are affianced, violates the most sacred engage- 
& to those men t s f plighted faith. And if to covet the wedded wife of 

who are _ r ° 

consecrat- another is highly criminal, it is no less so to desire in marriage 
gion. " the virgin who is consecrated to religion and to the service of 
A particu- God. But should any one desire in marriage a woman who is 
already married, supposing her to be unmarried, and not dis- 
posed, had he known that she was already married, to indulge 
such a desire, he does not violate this commandment. Pharaoh 
(19) and Abimelech, (20) as the Scripture informs us, were be- 
trayed into this error ; they wished to take Sarah to wife, sup- 

(19) Gen. xii. (20) Gen. xx. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 421 

posing her to be unmarried, and the sister, not the wife, of 
Abraham. 

In order to make known the remedies calculated to neutral- Remedies 
ize the evil consequences of the vice of covetousness, the pas- vfJousness 
tor will explain the positive part of the commandment. God 
then commands, that " if riches abound, we set not our hearts 
"upon them:" (21) that we be prepared to sacrifice them to a 
love of piety and religion: that we contribute cheerfully to- 
wards the relief of the poor ; and that if we ourselves are con- 
signed to poverty, we bear it with patience and with a holy 
joy. And, indeed, liberality to the poor is a most effectual 
means of extinguishing in our own hearts the desire of what 
belongs to another. But, on the praises of poverty and the 
contempt of riches, the pastor will find little difficulty in col- 
lecting abundant matter, for the instruction of the faithful, 
from the Sacred Scriptures and the works of the Fathers. (22) 

To desire, with all the ardor and all the earnestness of our Manda t°, r y 

• part of the 

souls, the consummation, not of our own wishes, but of the ho- command- 
ly will of God, as it is expressed in the Lord's Prayer, is a ment ' 
further duty inculcated by this law. It is his will that we 
be made eminent in holiness ; that we preserve our souls pure 
and undefiled ; that we practise those spiritual duties which 
are opposed to sensuality ; and that, having subdued our un- 
ruly appetites, and repressed the inordinacy of those senses 
which supply matter to the passions, we enter under the gui- 
dance of reason and of the spirit, upon a virtuous course of 
life. 

But, to extinguish the fire of passion, it will be found most Remedies 
efficacious to place before our eyes the evils which are insepa- concupi- 
rahle from its criminal indulgence. Amongst those evils the scen £ e * 
first is our subjugation to the tyranny of sin : in him who is 
obedient to the impulse of passion, sin reigns uncontrouled ; and 
hence the admonition of the Apostle : " Let not sin, therefore, 
"reign in your mortal body, so as to obey the lusts thereof." 

(21) Ps. lxi. n. 

(22) Vid. Hier. ep. 1. ad Heliod. & 8. ad Demetriadem, & 150. ad Hedebi- 
am quest. 1. & 16. ad Pammach. item Basil, in regul. fusius disputatis, inter- 
rog. 9. Chrys. in ep. ad Rom. ad haec verba, " salutate Priscam." Cassian lib. de 
institut. Monach. c. 13, & 33. & Collat. 24. c. 26. Greg. hom. IS. Ezech. 
Amb. in c. 6. Luc. Leon. mag. in serm. de omnibus Sanctis. Aug. lib. 17. de 
civ. Dei, &epist. 98. ad Hilar. & epist. 109. 



422 THE CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

(23) By resisting the ascendancy of the passions, we weak- 
en the power and subvert the tyranny of sin ; but by its indul- 
gence we expel God from his throne, and introduce sin in his 

II- place. Again, concupiscence, as S. James teaches, (24) is the 
impure source from which flows every sin : " All that is in 
" the world," says S. John, " is the concupiscence of the flesh, 
" the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life." (25) 

HI. A third evil of sensuality is, that it darkens the understanding: 
blinded by passion the sinner deems the objects of criminal 
desire, whatever they may be, lawful and even laudable. 

IV. Moreover, concupiscence stifles the seed of divine word, sown 
in our souls by God, the great husbandman: " Some," says S. 
Mark, " are sown among thorns ; these are they who hear the 
" word, and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of 
" riches, and the lusts after other things, entering in, choke 
" the word, and it is made fruitless." (26) 

Who are J} u t they who, more than others, are the slaves of concupi- 

most en- r 

slaved to scence, and whom, therefore, the pastor will exhort with 
cupidity. g rea t er earnestness and assiduity, are those who are addicted 
to improper diversions, or who immoderately abuse such as 
IT - are in themselves lawful ; and, also, merchants, who wish for 
dearth, and, because they cannot sell at too high, and purchase 
at too low, a price, cannot bear that others, by engaging in 
m - business, contravene their oppressive monopoly. They, too, 
offend in this particular, who, with a view to gain by buying 
IV. or selling, wish to see their neighbour reduced to want. Sol- 
diers, also, who thirst for war, in order to enrich them- 

V. selves with plunder; physicians, who wish for the spread of 

VI. disease ; lawyers, who are anxious for a number of causes 
Vii. and litigations ; and artizans who, greedy of gain, and with a 

view to increase their own profits, wish for a scarcity of the 
necessary articles for food and raiment, are all offenders against 
vm - this commandment. They, too, who, envious of the praise 
and glory won by the achievements of others, strive to tar- 
nish, in some degree, their fame, sin against this command- 
ment; particularly if they themselves are worthless characters, 
persons of no estimation in society : fame and glory are the 
meed of virtue and industry, not of indolence and inexertion. 
(23) Rom.vi. 12. (24) James, iii. 14. (25) 1 John,ii. 16. (26) Mark, iv. 18, 19. 



THE 

CATECHISM 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



PART IV. 

ON PRAYER. 



Amongst the duties of the pastoral office, it is one of theDutyofthe 
highest importance to the spiritual interests of the faithful, to 
instruct them in Christian prayer ; the nature and efficacy of 
which must be unknown to many, if not enforced by the pious 
and faithful exhortations of the pastor. To this, therefore, 
should the care of the pastor be directed in a special manner, 
that the faithful may understand how and for what they are to 
pray. 

Whatever is necessary to the performance of the duty of TheLord's 
prayer is comprised in that divine form, which Christ ourP ra ^ t _ 
Lord vouchsafed to make known to his Apostles, and, through ted to me- 
them and their successors, to all Christians. The sentiments mory ' 
which it expresses, and the words in which they are conceiv- 
ed, should, therefore, be so deeply impressed on the mind and 
memory, as to enable us to address it to God promptly and at 
all times. To assist the pastor, however, in teaching the faith- 
ful to pray, we have selected and set down from those writers, 
whose reputation for talents and learning on this head com- 
mands the highest respect, whatever appeared to us most in- 
structive on the subject, leaving it to the pastor to draw upon 



424 THE CATECHISM OF 

the same source for further information, should he deem it ne- 
cessary. (1) 
Necessity In the first place, then, the pastor is to teach the necessity 
o prayer. Q £ p raver . a ^ty not only recommended by way of counsel, 
I. but also enforced by positive precept. Our Lord himself has 
said: "We should pray always;" (2) and this necessity of 
prayer the Church declares in the prelude, if we may so call 
U. it, prefixed to the Lord's prayer in her liturgy : " Admonished 
" by salutary precepts, and taught by divine instruction, we 

III. " presume to say, * Our Father, &c."' Seeing, therefore, the 
necessity of prayer to the Christian, and at the solicitation of 
his disciples, " Lord teach us to pray," (3) the Son of God 
gave them a prescribed form of prayer, and encouraged them 
to hope, that the objects of their petitions would be granted. 
He himself was to them a model of prayer : he not only pray- 

IV. ed assiduously, but watched whole nights in prayer. (4) The 
Apostles, also, did not omit to deliver precepts on the subject : 
on this duty SS. Peter, (5) and John (6) are incessant in their 
admonitions to the faithful ; and S. Paul, not unmindful of its 
importance, frequently admonishes us of the salutary necessity 

V. of prayer. (7) Besides, so various are our temporal and spirit- 
ual necessities, so numerous the blessings which we expect to 
receive, that we must have recourse to prayer as the best or- 
gan to communicate our wants, and the surest channel through 
which to receive whatever succour we need. Of God nothing 
is due to us: it is ours, therefore, to supplicate his goodness. 

VI- He has constituted prayer as a necessary means for the ac- 
complishment of our desires ; and its necessity becomes still 
more obvious, when we reflect that there are blessings which 
we cannot hope to obtain otherwise than through prayer. 
Holy prayer, such is its efficacy, is a most powerful means of 
casting out demons : " this kind of demon is not cast out but 
" by prayer and fasting." (8) 

VII. Those, therefore, who do not practise assiduous prayer, rob 
themselves of the means of obtaining from God gifts of singu- 

( 1 ) De oratione scripserunt Tertullian. Cyprian. Aug. ep. 111. ad Probam. 
Chrysost. hom. 15. Cassian. 1. 9. Collat. D. Thorn, in opusc. & 2. 2. q. 85. per 
17. art. (2) Luke, xviii. 1. (3) Luke, xi. 1. 

(4) Luke, vi. 12. (5) 1 Pet. iii. 7. & iv. 19. (6) Uohn.iii. 21. 22. 

(7) Phil. iv. 6. 1 Thess. v. 17. 1 Tim. ii. I. (8) Matth. xvii. 21. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 425 

lar value. To succeed in obtaining the object of your desires, 
not enough that you ask that which is good ; your intreaties 
must also be assiduous : " Every one that asketh," says S. Je- 
rome, " receiveth : if, therefore, it will not be given you, it is 
" because you do not ask it : ' ask, therefore, and you shall re- 
" < ceive.' " (9) 

But prayer is not only a necessary, but, also, a most pleas- jjfjjj 18 ^ 
ing and salutary exercise of devotion, from which we reap an prayer, 
abundant harvest of spiritual fruit. On these fruits of prayer, the 
pastor will consult spiritual writers, and when necessary for 
the instruction of the faithful, will draw copiously upon their 
labours. We have, however, made a selection from their ac- 
cumulated treasures, which appeared to us to suit the present 
purpose. 

The first fruit which we receive from prayer is, that by Sprayer' 
prayer we honor God : prayer is, in some sort, a proof of re- 
ligion ; and is compared, in Scripture, to incense : " Let my 
" prayer," says David, " be directed as incense in thy sight." 
(10) By prayer we confess our subjection to God, whom we 
acknowledge and proclaim to be the author of all good ; in 
whom alone we centre all our hopes ; who alone is our refuge, 
in all dangers ; and whose protecting care is the bulwark of 
our salvation. Of this fruit of prayer we are admonished, in 
these words of the Psalmist : " Call upon me in the day of 
" trouble : I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." (11) 

Another most pleasing and invaluable fruit of prayer, when jr e( r° nd 
heard by God, is, that it opens to us heaven : " Prayer is the 
key of heaven," says S. Augustine : " prayer ascends, and 
" mercy descends : high as are the heavens, and low as is the 
" earth, God hears the voice of man." (12) Such is the utili- 
ty, such the efficacy of prayer, that through it we obtain the 
plenitude of heavenly gifts, the guidance and aid of the Holy 
Spirit, the security and preservation of the faith, escape from 
punishment, protection under temptation, victory over the 
Devil ; in a word, there is, in prayer, an accumulation of spir- 



(9) 
(10) 



Matt. vii. S. Luke, xl 10. John, xvi. 23, 24. Hier. in cap. 7. Matt. 
) Ps. cxl. 2. (l l) p s . xlix. 15. (12) Sent. 226. de temp. 



54 



426 THE CATECHISM OF 

itual joy : " Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be 
"full." (13) 
God ever Nor can we, for a moment, doubt that God is, at all times, 
hear our rea dy to hear our petitions ; a truth to which the sacred Scrip- 
petitions, tures bear ample testimony. As, however, the texts which 
go to establish it are easy of access, we shall content our- 
selves with citing a few from the Prophet Isaias. " Then," 
says he, "shalt thou call, and the Lord will hear: thou shalt 
"cry, and he will say, 'here I am;'" (14) and again, "It 
" shall come to pass, that before they call, I will hear : as they 
"are yet speaking, I will hear." (15) With regard to in- 
stances of persons, who have obtained from God the objects 
of their prayers, they are almost innumerable, and too much 
within the reach of all to require special mention. 
Why our But our prayers are sometimes unheard ? True ; and God 
sometimes tnen consults, in a special manner, for our interests, bestowing 
unheard. on us other gifts, of higher value, and in greater abundance ; 
or withholding what we ask, because, far from being necessa- 
ry or useful, its concession would prove not only superfluous, 
but even injurious. " God," says S. Augustine, " denies some 
"things in his mercy, which he grants in his wrath." (16) 
Sometimes, also, such is the remissness and negligence with 
which we pray, that we ourselves do not attend to what we 
say. If prayer is an elevation of the soul to God, (17) and if, 
whilst we pray, the mind, instead of being fixed upon God, is 
lost in wandering distractions, and the tongue slurs over the 
words at random, without attention, without devotion, with 
what propriety can we give to such empty sounds the name of 
prayer ? We should not, therefore, be at all surprised, if God 
does not comply with our requests ; we who, by our negli- 
gence, and by our ignorance of the very object of our peti- 
tions, afford practical proof that we are regardless of being 
heard by him ; or who, if we pray with attention, solicit those 
things, which, if granted, must be prejudicial to our eternal 

To devout interests. To those who pray with devout attention, God 
prayerGod 

(13) John, xvi. 24. (14) Isa. Iviii. 9. (15) Isa. Ixv. 24. 

(16) Aug. init. serm. 33, de verb. Domini ; item in Joan, tract. "3. 

(17) De orationis definitione vid. Damascen. libr. 3. de fid. orthod. c. 24. 
Aug. de sermone Domini in monte, c. 7. et sermon. 230. de tempore. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 427 

grants, more than they ask. This the Apostle declares, in his j^ te than 
Epistle to the Ephesians; (18) and the same truth is unfolded is asked, 
in the parable of the prodigal son, who would have deemed it 
a kindness to be admitted into the number of his father's ser- 
vants; but who was received, by a forgiving parent, with more 
than a parent's fondness. (19) Nay, when we are properly 
disposed, God accumulates his favours on us, even when we 
ask them not; and this, not only with abundance, but also with 
a readiness, which anticipates our desires. Without waiting 
for their utterance, God prevents the inward and silent aspi- 
rations of the poor, according to these words of Scripture : 
" The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor." (20) 

Another fruit of prayer is, that it exercises and augments Third fruit 

. , of prayer. 

the Christian virtues, particularly the virtue of faith. As they, 
who have not faith in God, cannot pray as they ought ; " How 
" can they call on him, whom they have not believed?" (21) 
so, the faithful, in proportion to the fervor of their prayers, 
possess a stronger and a more assured faith in the protecting 
providence of God, which requires principally, that, in all 
things which we have occasion to supplicate from his bounty, 
we submit ourselves to his sovereign will. God, it is true, 
might bestow on us all things abundantly, although we asked 
them not, nor even thought of them, as he bestows on the irrar 
tional creation all things necessary for the support of life : but 
our most bountiful Father wishes to be invoked by his chil- 
dren; he wishes that, praying as we ought each day of our 
lives, we may pray with increased confidence ; by acceding to 
our petitions, he wishes, every day, to give fresh proofs and 
manifestations of his parental kindness towards us. 

Our charity is also augmented by prayer. Recognising God Fourth 
as the author of every blessing, and the source of every good, 
we cling to him with the most devoted love. As those who 
cherish a sincere and mutual affection, become more ardently 
attached by frequent interviews and interchanges of sentiment, 
so the more frequent the aspirations which the pious soul 
breathes to God, and the closer the converse which she en- 
joys with him, by imploring his bounteous mercy, the more 

(18) Ephes. iii. 20. (19) Luke, xxv. (20) Pi. x. 17. (21) Rom. x. 14. 



fruit. 



428 THE CATECHISM OF 

exquisite is the sense of delight which she experiences, and 

Fifth. the more ardently is she inflamed to love and adore him. He 
will, therefore, have us to make use of the exercise of prayer, 
that, burning with the desire of asking what we are anxious to 
obtain, we may thus make such advances in spiritual life, as to 
be worthy to obtain those blessings, which the soul, before 
dry and contracted, was incapable of receiving. (22) 

Sixth. Moreover, God would have us to know, and always to 

keep in recollection, this revealed truth, that, unassisted by his 
heavenly grace, we can of ourselves do nothing, and should, 
therefore, apply ourselves to prayer, with all the powers of 

Seventh, our souls. The weapons which prayer supplies are most 
powerful against our most implacable foes : " With the cries 
" of our prayers," says S. Hilary, " we must fight against the 
" Devil and his armed hosts." (23) 

Eighth. From prayer, we also derive this important advantage, that, 

inclining, as we do, to evil, by the innate corruption of our 
own hearts, and to the indulgence of sensual appetite, God 
permits us to bring him, in a special manner, present to our 
minds ; that, whilst we address him in prayer, and endeavour 
to merit his gifts and graces, we may be inspired with a love 
of innocence, and, by effacing our sins, be purified from every 
stain of guilt. 

Ninth. Finally, as S. Jerome observes, prayer disarms the anger of 

God. Hence, these words addressed to Moses, "Let me 
" alone," (24) when Moses sought to interpose his prayer for 
the protection of a guilty people. Nothing is so efficacious in 
appeasing God, when his wrath is kindled ; nothing so effectu- 
ally averts his fury, when provoked ; nothing so powerfully ar- 
rests his arm, when already uplifted to strike the wicked, as 
the prayers of the pious. 

The parts The necessity and advantages of Christian prayer being thus 

of prayer! explained, the faithful should also know how many, and what, 
are the parts of which it is composed. That this knowledge 
appertains to the perfect discharge of the duty of prayer we 
learn from the Apostle, when, in his Epistle to Timothy, ex- 
horting to pious and holy prayer, he carefully enumerates the 

(22) Vid. Aug. epist. 12 1 . c. 8. (23) Hilar, in Psal. 63. (24) Exod. xxxii. 10- 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 429 

parts of which it consists : " I desire therefore first," says he, 
" that obsecrations, prayers, postulations, and thanksgivings be 
" made for all men." (25) Although the shades of distinction 
between these different parts of prayer are delicate and refin- 
ed, yet the pastor, should he deem the explanation useful to his 
people, will consult, on the subject, the writings of S. S. Hila- 
ry and Augustine. (26) But as there are two principal parts 
of prayer, petition and thanksgiving, the sources, as it were, 
from which all the others spring, they appeared to us of too 
much importance to be omitted. When we offer to God the 
tribute of our worship, we do so either to obtain some favour, 
or to return him thanks for those with which his bounty every 
day enriches and adorns us ; and each of these God himself de- 
clares to be a necessary part of prayer: " Call upon me," says 
he, " in the day of trouble : I will deliver thee, and thou shalt 
"glorify me." (27) 

Who does not know how much we stand in need of the good- Goodness 

° and bene- 

ness and beneficence of God, if he but consider the extreme ficence of 
destitution and misery of man ? Who that has eyes to see, and ne c e ssary 
understanding to judge, and does not know how much the will t0 us - 
of God inclines, and how liberal is his bounty, towards us ? 
Wherever we cast our eyes, wherever we turn our thoughts, 
the admirable light of the divine goodness and beneficence 
beams upon us. What have we that is not the gift of his boun- 
ty ? If, then, all things are the gifts and favors bestowed on Note - 
us by his goodness, why should not every tongue, as much as 
possible, celebrate the praises of God, and every heart throb 
with the pulsation of gratitude, for his boundless beneficence ? 

Of these duties of petition and thanksgiving each contains Subordi- 
many subordinate degrees. In order, therefore, that the faith- grees of the 
ful may not only pray but also pray in the best manner, the poparts 01 " 
pastor will propose to them the most perfect manner of pray- of prayer, 
ing, and will exhort them to it with the greatest earnestness. 
What, then, is the best manner and the most exalted degree of 
prayer ! — That, which is made use of by the pious and the just, 

(25) ITim. ii. I. 

(26) Hilar, in Psal. 140. ad ilia verba, "dirigatur oratio." Aug. epist. 59. 
ad Paulin. ante med. vid. item Cassian. Colla. 9. c. q. & seq. item D. Thorn. 2. 
2. q. 83. (27) Psal. xlix. 15. Vid. Basil, lib. Const, monast. c. 2. 



430 THE CATECHISM OF 

who, resting on the solid foundation of the true faith, rise suc- 
cessively from one degree of purity and of fervour in prayer to 
another, until, at length, they reach that height of perfection, 
whence they can contemplate the infinite power, beneficence, 
and wisdom of God ; where, too, they are cheered with the 
bright prospect, and animated with the assured hope, of ob- 
taining not only those blessings which engage their desires in 
this life, but, also, those unutterable rewards, which lie beyond 
the confines of this world, and which God has pledged himself 
to grant to him who piously and religiously implores his assist- 
ance. 7 ' (28) Soaring as it were to heaven on these two wings, 
the soul approaches, in fervent desire, the throne of the Divini- 
ty; adores with rapturous praise and thanksgiving, that Great 
Being from whom she has received such inestimable blessings ; 
and, like an only child, animated with singular piety and pro- 
found veneration, lays open to her most beloved Father all her 
wants. This sort of prayer the Sacred Scriptures express by 
the words, " pouring out :" " In his sight," says the prophet, 
" I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble ;" 
(29) as if he had said : "From him I suppress, from him I con- 
ceal nothing, but pour out my whole soul in praying, flying 
" with confidence into the bosom of God, my most loving Fa- 
" ther." To this holy exercise the Sacred Scriptures exhort 
us in these words : " Pour out thy heart before him," (30) " and 
" cast thy care upon the Lord ;" (31) This is that degree of 
prayer to which S. Augustine alludes when he says: " What 
"faith believes, that hope and charity implore." (32) 
II. Another degree of prayer is that of those who, pressed down 

by the weight of mortal guilt, strive, however, with what is call- 
ed dead faith, to raise themselves from their prostrate condi- 
tion, and to ascend to God ; but, in consequence of their languid 
state and the extreme weakness of their faith, cannot raise them- 
selves from the earth. Impressed with a just sense of the enor- 
mity of their crimes, and stung with remorse of conscience, they 
bow themselves down with humility, and, far as they are re- 
moved from him, implore of God a penitential sorrow, 

(28) Vid. D. Bernard, serm. 4. de quadrag. & in serm. de quatuor modis oran- 
di. &. Basil, loco jam citato. 

(29) Ps. cxli. 3. (30) Ps. lxi. 9. (31) Ps. liv. 23. (32) Ench. cap. vii. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 431 

the pardon of their sins, and the peace of reconciliation. The 
prayers of such persons are not rejected by God : they are gra- 
ciously heard by him ; nay, in his mercy, he generously 
invites such sinners to have recourse to him : " Come to me, all 
" you that labour, and are heavily laden, and I will refresh 
" you." (33) Of this class of sinners was the Publican, who, 
not daring to raise his eyes towards heaven, left the temple, as 
our Lord declares, more justified than the Pharisee. (34) 

A third degree of prayer is that which is offered by those, HI. 
who have not as yet been illumined with the light of faith ; but 
who, whilst the divine goodness lights up in their souls the fee- 
ble glimmerings of the law of nature, are strongly excited to 
the desire and pursuit of truth, to arrive at a knowledge of 
which is the object of their most earnest prayers. If they per- 
severe in such dispositions, God, in his mercy, will not neglect 
their earnest endeavours, as we see verified by the example of 
Cornelius the centurion : (35) against none who desire it sin- 
cerely are the doors of the divine mercy closed. 

The last degree is that of those, who, not only impenitent but IV. 
obdurate, adding crime to crime, and enormity to enormity, yet 
dare frequently to ask pardon of God for those sins, in which 
they are resolved to persevere. Under such circumstances, and 
with such dispositions, who would presume to ask pardon 
even of his fellow-man ? To the prayer of such sinners God 
turns a deaf ear, as it is recorded in Scripture of Antiochus : 
" Then this wicked man prayed to the Lord, of whom he was 
" not to obtain mercy." (36) Whoever lives in this deplorable 
condition should be exhorted to wean himself from all affection 
to sin, to turn to God in good earnest and from the heart. 

As, under the head of each petition, we shall point out in its Objects of 
proper place, what is and what is not a proper object of prayer, 
it will here suffice to admonish the faithful, in general terms, to 
ask of God such things as are just and good ; lest, suing for what 
is not conformable to his known will, they may be answered 
in these words : " You know not what you desire." (37) What- 
ever it is lawful to desire, it is lawful to pray for : the promise 

(33) Matth. xi. 28. (34) Luke, xviii. 9. &seq. (35) Acts, x. S. 

(36) Mach. ix. 13. (37) Matth. xx. 22. 



prayer. 



432 THE CATECHISM OF 

of our Lord is unlimited : " You shall ask whatever you will, 
"and it shall be done unto you;" (38) words which ensure all 
things to pious prayer. 

I. In the first place, then, to refer every thing to God, the Su- 
preme Good, the great object of our love, the centre of all our 
desires, is the principle which should regulate all our wishes. 

II. In the next place, those things which unite us most closely to 
God should be the objects of our most earnest desires ; whilst 
those which would separate us from him, or occasion that sep- 

III. aration, should have no share in them. From this principle we 
may learn how, after the supreme and perfect good, we are to 
desire and ask from God our Father those other things which 
are called goods. With regard to those which are called ex- 
ternal goods, and, as it is said, belong to the body, such as 
health, strength, beauty, riches, honors, glory, which often sup- 
ply matter and give occasion to sin, and which, therefore, it is 
not always either pious or salutary to ask, they are not to be 
objects of our prayers without this limitation, that we pray for 
them, because necessary, at the same time, referring to God the 
motive of our prayer. It cannot be deemed unlawful to pray 
for those things for which Jacob and Solomon prayed: "If," 
says Jacob, u he shall give me bread to eat and raiment to put 
on, the Lord shall be my God ;" (39) " give me," says Solo- 
mon, " only the necessaries of life." (40) Whilst, however, 
we are supplied by the bounty of God with food and raiment, 
we should not forget the admonition of the Apostle : " Let 
" them that buy, be as if they possessed not ; and those that use 
" this world, as if they used it not; for the figure of this world 
"passeth away ;" (41) and again, " If riches abound, set not 
"your hearts upon them." (42) To us, therefore, belong only 
their use and advantage, with an obligation, however, as we 
learn from God himself, of sharing them with the indigent. If 
we are blessed with health and strength, if we abound in other 
external and corporal goods, we should recollect that they are 
given to us in order to enable us to serve God with greater 
fidelity, and as the means of lending assistance to the wants 
and necessities of others. 

(38) John, xv. 7. '39) Gen. xxviii. 20. (40) Prov. xxx. 8. 

(41) 1 Cor. vii. 30,31. (42) Pa. lxi. 11. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 433 

But genius and the acquirements that adorn it, such as eru- 
dition and the arts, it is also lawful to pray for, provided our 
prayers are accompanied with this condition, that the advan- 
tages which they afford, serve to promote the glory of God, 
and our own salvation. That, however, which is to be abso- 
lutely and unconditionally the object of our wishes, our desires, 
our prayers, is, as we have already observed, the glory of God, 
and, next to it, whatever can serve to unite us to that supreme 
good, such as faith, the fear and love of God ; but of these we 
shall treat at large, when we come to explain the petitions of 
the Lord's Prayer. 

The objects of prayer known, the faithful are next to be Who are 
taught for whom they are to pray. Prayer comprehends peti- ° d foj? ray ~ 
tion and thanksgiving; and we shall, therefore, first treat of 
petition. We are, then, to pray for all mankind, without ex- 
ception of enemies, nation, or religion : every man, be he ene- 
my, stranger, or infidel, is our neighbour, whom God com- 
mands us to love, and for whom, therefore, we should dis- 
charge a duty of love, which is prayer. To the discharge of 
this duty the Apostle exhorts when he says: "I desire that 
" prayer be made for all men." (43) In such prayers the spi- 
ritual interests of our neighbour should hold the first, his tem- 
poral, the second place. This duty w r e owe to our pastors I. 
before all others, as we learn from the example of the Apostle 
in his Epistle to the Colossians, in which he solicits them to 
pray for him, " that God may open unto him a door of speech ;" 
(44) a solicitation which he also repeats in his Epistle to the 
Thessalonians. (45) In the acts of the Apostles we also read 
that " prayers were offered in the church without intermission 
" for Peter." (46) S. Basil, in his " Morals," urges to a faith- 
ful compliance with this salutary obligation : " We must," says 
he, "pray for those who preside over the word of truth." (47) 
That it is incumbent on us to offer up our prayers for princes II. 
is obvious from the recorded sentiments of the same Apostle. 
Who does not know what a singular blessing the Common- 
wealth enjoys in a religious and just prince ? We should, 
therefore, beseech God to make them such as they ought to 

(43)1 Tim. ii. 1. (44) Col. iv. 3. (45) 1 Thess. v. 25. (46) Acts, rf- 5. 
(47) Basil, lib. Moral. Reg. 56. cap. 5. item. hoin. in Isaiam. 

55 



434 THE CATECHISM OF 

be, fit persons to rule over those who are subject to their au- 
thority. (48) 

III. To offer up our prayers also for the good and pious is a 
practice sanctioned and supported by the authority of holy 
men. Even the good and the pious have occasion for the 
prayers of others ; and this is a wise dispensation of Provi- 
dence, that, aware of the necessity they are under of being aid- 
ed by the prayers of those who are inferior to them in sancti- 

IV. ty, they may not be inflated with pride. Our Lord has also 
commanded us, " to pray for those that persecute and calumni- 
ate us ;" (49) and the practice of praying for those who are not 
within the pale of the church, is, as we know on the authority 

V. of S. Augustine, of Apostolic origin. (50) We pray that the 
faith may be made known to infidels ; that idolators may be 
rescued from the error of their impiety ;' that the Jews, 
emerging from the darkness with which they are encompass- 
ed, may arrive at the light of truth ; that heretics, returning 
to soundness of mind, may be instructed in the true faith; and 
that Schismatics, connected by the bond of true charity, may 
be united to the communion of the Catholic Church, from 
which they have separated. The great efficacy of such prayers, 
when poured from the heart, is evinced by a variety of exam- 
ples. Numerous instances occur every day in which God 
rescues individuals of every class which we have enumera- 
ted from the powers of darkness, and transfers them into the 
kingdom of his beloved Son, from vessels of wrath making them 
vessels of mercy ; and that, in realizing so happy a consumma- 
tion, the prayers of the pious have considerable influence, no 
one can reasonably doubt. 

VI. Prayers for the dead that they may be liberated from the 
fire of purgatory are of Apostolic origin ; but this subject we 
have already treated at large, when expounding the Holy Sac- 
rifice of the Mass. (51) Those who are dead in sin derive lit- 
tle advantage from prayers and supplications ; yet it is the part 
of Christian charity to offer up our prayers and tears for them, 

(48) Vid. Tertull. Apol. c. 30. & ad Scap. c. 2. (49) Matth. v. 44. 

(50) Vid. Aug. Epist. 10. ad Vital. Cypr. de Orat. Dom. Item Ccelestinum 
Papam Epist. 1. c. 11. 

(51) Dionys. cap. lib. de Eccles. Hierarch. c. 6. 7. Clem. Pap. ep. 1. & lib. 
Constit. Apol. Tertul. de Coron. milit. & in exhort, ad castit. & in lib. de monog. 
Cypr. ep. 66. 



VII. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 435 

in order, if possible, to obtain their reconciliation with God. 
With regard to the execrations uttered by holy men against Note, 
the wicked, it is certain, from the concurrent exposition of the 
Fathers, that they are either prophecies of the evils which are 
to befall them, or denunciations against the crimes of which 
they are guilty, that the sinner may be saved, but sin destroy- 
ed. (52) 

In the second part of prayer, which is " thanksgiving," we Thanks- 
render most grateful thanks to God for the divine and immor- fered for 
tal blessings which he has always bestowed, and still continues w ° m ' 
to bestow on the human race. This duty we discharge, prin- 
cipally, when we give singular praises to God for the victory 
and triumph which, aided by his goodness, the saints have 
achieved over their domestic and external enemies. To this The ange- 
sort of prayer belongs the first part of the Angelical Salutation, tation. 
When we say by way of prayer: " Hail Mary, full of grace, 
" the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women," we 
render to God the highest praise and return him most grateful 
thanks, because he accumulated all his heavenly gifts on the 
most Holy Virgin ; and to the Virgin herself, for this her singu- 
lar felicity, we present our respectful and fervent congratula- 
tions." (53) To this form of thanksgiving the Church of God Note. 
has wisely added prayers to, and an invocation of, the most ho- 
ly Mother of God, by which we piously and humbly fly to her 
patronage, in order that, by interposing her intercession, she 
may conciliate the friendship of God to us miserable sinners, 
and may obtain for us those blessings which we stand in need 
of in this life and in the life to come. Exiled children of Eve, 
who dwell in this vale of tears, should we not earnestly be- 
seech the Mother of mercy, the advocate of the faithful, to 
pray for us ? Should we not earnestly implore her help and 
assistance ? That she possesses exalted merits with God, and 
that, she is most desirous to assist us by her prayers, it were 
wicked and impious to doubt. (54) 

That God is to be prayed to and his name invoked is the Prayers, 

(52) Vid.Aug. de serm. Dom. in monte lib. cap. 22. & serm. 109. de temp. 

(53) Vid. Aug. Ench. c. 100. et. 21. de civit. Dei, c. 24. et lib. 20. contr. 
Faust, c. 21. 

(54) Aug. Serm. 18. de Sanctis. Ambr. in I.e. Lucse. Bern. horn. 3. in 
"Missus est." Item. lib. 5. c. 19. Athan. in Ev. de Sancta Deipara. Aug. 
Serm. 2. de Annunt. Nazianz. in orat. de S. Cyprian. 



436 THE CATECHISM OF 

l ° whon \ language of the law of nature, inscribed upon the tablet of the 
I. ' human heart: it is also the doctrine of revelation, in which we 
hear God commanding : " Call upon me in the day of trouble ;" 
(55) and, by the word "God," are to be understood the three 
n - persons of the adorable Trinity. We must also have recourse 
to the intercession of the saints who are in glory. That the 
saints are to be prayed to is a truth so firmly established in the 
church of God, that the pious mind cannot experience a shadow 
of doubt on the subject; and as this point of Catholic faith was 
explained in its proper place, under a separate head, to that 
explanation we refer the pastor and others. To remove, how- 
ever, the possibility of error on the part of the unlettered, 
it will be found useful to explain to the faithful the difference 
between the invocation of the saints, and the prayers which 
are offered to God. 
God and We do not address God and the saints in the same manner : 
addressed God we implore to grant us the blessings of which we stand 
differently. j n nee ^ an( j to deliver us from the dangers to which we are 
exposed ; but the saints, because they are the friends of God, we 
solicit to undertake the advocacy of our cause with him, to 
obtain for us, from him, all necessaries for soul and body. 
Hence, we make use of two different forms of prayer: to God, 
we properly say, " Have mercy on us," " Hear us ;" but to 
the saints, " Pray for us." The words, " Have mercy on us," 
we may also address to the saints, for they are most merciful ; 
but we do so on a different principle ; we beseech them to be 
touched with the misery of our condition, and to interpose, in 
our behalf, their influence and intercession before the throne of 
Note. God. In the performance of this duty, it is strictly incumbent 
on all not to transfer to creatures the right which belongs ex- 
clusively to God : and when, kneeling before the image of a 
saint, we repeat the Lord's Prayer, we are also to recollect, 
that we beg of the saint to pray with us, and to obtain for us 
those favours which we ask of God, in the petitions of the 
Lord's Prayer ; in fine, that he become our interpreter and in- 
tercessor with God. That this is an office which the saints 
discharge, we read in the Apocalypse of John the Apostle. (56) 

(55) Pa. xlix. 15. (56) Apoc. viii. 3 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 437 

" Before prayer, prepare thy soul, and be not as a man that Prepara- 
" tempteth God," (57) is an admonition which has all the prater? 
weight and authority of revelation. He whose conduct is in 
direct opposition to his prayers, who, whilst he holds familiar 
converse with God, suffers his mind to wander, tempts God. 
As, therefore, the dispositions with which we pray are of such 
vital importance, the pastor will teach his pious hearers how 
to pray. The first disposition, then, which should accompa- I. 
ny our prayers, is an unfeigned humility of soul, an acknow- 
ledgement of our unworthiness, and a conviction that, when 
we approach God in prayer, our sins render us undeserving, 
not only of receiving a propitious hearing from him, but even 
of appearing in his presence. This preparation is frequently 
mentioned in the inspired Volume : " He hath had regard to 
" the prayer of the humble," says David, " and he hath not 
"despised their petitions :" (58) "The prayer of him that 
" humbleth himself," says Ecclesiasticus, " shall pierce the 
" clouds." (59) But on a condition of such obvious import- 
ance, we abstain from citing many texts of Scripture. Two 
examples, however, at which we have already glanced, and 
which are apposite to our purpose, we shall not pass over in 
silence. The publican, " who, standing afar off, would not 
" so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven," (60) and the 
woman, a sinner, who, moved with sorrow, washed the feet 
of Christ our Lord, with her tears, (61) illustrate the great 
efficacy which Christain humility imparts to prayer. 

The next disposition is a feeling of poignant sorrow, arising n. 
from the recollection of our past sins, or, at least, some sense 
of regret, that we do not experience that poignancy of sor- 
row. If the sinner bring not with him to prayer both, or, at 
least, one of these dispositions, he cannot hope to obtain the 
pardon of his sins. 

There are some crimes, such as violence and murder, which m. 
oppose the greatest obstacles to the efficacy of our prayers, 
and we must, therefore, preserve our hands unstained by out- 
rage and cruelty : " When you stretch forth your hands," 

(57) Eccl. xviii. 23. (58) Ps. ci. 18. (59) Eccl. xxxv. 21. 

(60) Luke, xviii. 13. (61) Luke, vii. 37. 



438 THE CATECHISM OF 

says the Lord, " I will turn away my eyes from you ; and 
" when you multiply prayer, I will not hear, for your hands 
IV. " are full of blood." (62) Anger and strife we should also 
studiously avoid : they have great influence in preventing our 
prayers from being heard: "I will that men pray in every 
" place," says S. Paul, "lifting up pure hands, without anger 

V. " and contention." (63) Implacable hatred for injuries receiv- 
ed is another obstacle to the efficacy of prayer, which we can- 
not be too cautious in avoiding : under the influence of such 
feelings, it is impossible that we should obtain from God the 
pardon of our sins. " When you shall stand to pray," says our 
Lord, " forgive, if you have aught against any man ;" (64) 
" but if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father for- 
give you your offences." (65) 

VI. Insensibility and inhumanity to the poor we should also scru- 
pulously avoid, if we hope that our prayers shall prove accept- 
able to God : " He that stoppeth his ear," says the book of 
Proverbs, " against the cry of the poor, shall also cry himself, 

VII. and shall not be heard." (66) What shall we say of pride ? 
Its hatefulness in the sight of God, we learn from these words 
of S. James : " God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the 

VIII. " humble." (67) What, of the contempt of the divine oracles ? 
" He that turneth away his ears," says Solomon, " from hear- 

Note. « ing the law, his prayer shall be an abomination." (68) Here, 
however, we are not to understand that the humble acknow- 
ledgement of the injuries done to our neighbour, of murder, an- 
ger, insensibility to the wants of the poor, of pride, contempt 
of the divine oracles, in fine, of any other sin, is excluded from 
the objects of prayer, provided we implore pardon from God 
for these crimes. 

IX. Of this preparation of the soul, another essential quality is 
faith. Without faith, we can have no knowledge of the omni- 
potence or mercy of God, which are the sources of our confi- 
dence in prayer : " All things whatsoever you shall ask in 
" prayer, believing," says the Redeemer, " you shall receive." 
(69) On these words of our Lord, S. Augustine, speaking of 

(62)Isa. i. 15. (63) 1 Tim.ii. 8. (64) Mark, xi. 25. (65) Matth. vi. 15. 
(66) Prov. xxi. 13. (67) James, iv. 6. 1 Pet. v. 5. 

(68) Prov. xxviii. 9. (69) Matth. xxi. 22. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 439 

faith, says, " Without faith, it is in vain to pray." (70) Prayer, 
then, as we have already said, to be efficacious, must be sus- 
tained by a firm and unwavering faith, as the Apostle shows by 
this strong antithesis : " How shall they call on him whom they 
"have not believed ?" (71) Believe, then, we must, in order 
to pray, and that we be not wanting in that faith which renders 
prayer available. Faith it is that prays, and unwavering prayer 
gives strength to faith. To this etfect is the exhortation of the 
martyr Ignatius, to those who approach the throne of God in 
prayer : " Be not of doubtful mind in prayer ; blessed is he 
" who hath not doubted." To obtain from God the objects of 
our prayers, faith, and an assured confidence, are, therefore, of 
the first importance, according to the admonition of S. James ; 
" Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." (72) 

There is much to inspire us with confidence in prayer. Motives of 
Amongst the motives to confidence, are to be numbered the be- ^ prayer. 8 
neficence and bounty of God, displayed towards us, when he L 
commands us to call him " Father," thus giving us to under- 
stand that we are his children ; the numberless instances on re- n. 
cord of those whose prayers have been heard ; and the media- 
tion of our chief advocate, Christ the Lord, who is ever ready III. 
to assist us : " We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 
" Christ, the just ; and he is the propitiation for our sins ;"(73) 
" Christ Jesus, that died, yea, that is risen also again, who is 
" at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for 
"us;" (74) "for there is one God, and one mediator of 
" God and man, the man Christ Jesus." (75) " Where- 
" fore, it behoved him in all things to be made like unto 
" his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faith- 
ful high-priest before God." (76) Unworthy, then, as 
we are, of obtaining our requests, yet considering, and 
resting our claims upon, the dignity of our great Mediator 
and Intercessor, Jesus Christ, we should hope and trust most 
confidently, that, through his merits, God will grant us all 
that we ask in the proper spirit of prayer. Finally, the Holy IV. 
Ghost is the author of our prayers ; and under his guiding in- 

(70) Epist. 10. ad Hier. (71) Rom. x. 14. (72) James, i. 6. 

(73) 1 John, ii. 12. (74J Rom. viii. 34. ("75) 1 Tim. ii. 5. 

(76) Heb. ii. 17. 



440 THE CATECHISM OF 

fluence, we cannot fail to be heard. " We have received the 
" spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry, Abba (Father.)" 
This spirit succours our infirmity, and enlightens our ignor- 
ance, in the discharge of the duty of prayer ; " and," continues 
the Apostle, "asketh for us with unspeakable groanings." (77) 
Note. Should we, then, at any time waver, not being sufficiently 
strong in faith, let us say, with the Apostle, " Lord increase 
"our faith;" (78) and, with the father of the blind man men- 
Note, tioned in the Gospel, "Help my belief." (79) But what most 
ensures the accomplishment of our desires, is the union of 
faith and hope with that correspondence on our part to the 
will of God, which makes us regulate all our thoughts, and 
actions, and prayers, by the standard of his divine law, and 
the dictates of his sovereign pleasure : " If," says he " you 
" abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask 
" whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you." (80) In 
order, however, that all our prayers may be thus graciously 
heard, we must, as was previously observed, first bury in ob- 
livion all injuries, and cherish sentiments of good will and 
beneficence towards all men. 
The man- The manner of praying is, also, matter of the highest mo- 
praying: ment. In itself prayer, it is true, is good and salutary; yet, 
if not applied in a proper manner, it is unavailing : " You ask," 
says S.James, "and receive not; because you ask amiss." 
(81) The pastor, therefore, will instruct the faithful in the 
best manner of private and public prayer, and in the rules 
which have been delivered on this subject, according to the 
I. discipline of Christ our Lord. We must, then, pray " in 
" spirit and in truth ;" (82) and this we do when our prayers 
are the aspirations of an interior and intense ardor of soul. 
(83) This spiritual manner of praying does not exclude the 
Mental, use of vocal prayer ; but mental prayer, which is the outpour- 
ing of a soul inflamed with the vehemence of heavenly desires, 
deservedly holds the first place ; and, although not uttered 
with the lips, is heard by him to whom the secrets of hearts 
are naked and open. He heard the prayer of Anna, the mo- 

(77) Rom. viii. 15. 26. (78) Luke, xvii. 5. (79) Mark, ix. 23. 

(80) John, xv. 7. (81) James, iv. 3. (82) John, iv. 23. 

(83) De hac ratione orandi in spiritu & veritate vid. Cyrill. Alex, per 17. 
libros integros ; item D. Thorn. 2. 1. qusest. 83. art. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 441 

ther of Samuel, of whom we read, that she prayed shedding 
many " tears and only moving her lips ?" (84) Such was, also, 
the prayer of David, for he says : " My heart hath said to thee, 
"my face hath sought thee ;" (85) and in the perusal of the in- 
spired Volume similar examples will frequently occur. 

But vocal prayer has also its advantages, and is sometimes Vocal - 
necessary: it quickens the attention of the mind, and kindles 
the fervent devotion of the heart. " We sometimes," says S. 
Augustine, "animate ourselves to more lively sentiments of 
" devotion, by having recourse to words and other signs cal- 
" culated to kindle the fervor of our desires : filled with 
" pious emotion we find it impossible to restrain the current 
" of our feelings, and accordingly we pour them out in the 
" fervid accents of prayer ; whilst the soul exults with joy, 
" the tongue should also give utterance to that exultation." 

(86) Vocal prayer, as we know from numerous passages of 
the Acts of the Apostles, and of the Epistles of S. Paul, was 
used by the Apostles ; and, following their example, it be- 
comes us also to offer to God the entire sacrifice of soul and 
body. As, however, there are two sorts of vocal prayer, pri- Private 
vate and public, it is to be observed, that private prayer is and public 
employed in order to assist attention and devotion ; whereas, 

in public prayer, instituted, as it has been, to excite the piety 
of the faithful, the utterance of the words is, at certain fixed 
times, indispensably required. 

This practice of praying inspirit, a practice, too, peculiar to To pray in 
Christians, is unknown amongst infidels, of whom Christ our cuKiur to" 
Lord has said : " When you pray, speak not much, as the hea- Christians. 
" thens ; for they think that in their much speaking they may 
" be heard. Be not you, therefore, like to them, for your Fa- 
" ther knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him." 

(87) He therefore prohibits "much speaking;" but long < Much 
prayers, which proceed from the eagerness of devotion, and an ' s Pf akin g' 

i n ,i -i i • prohibited; 

ardor of soul, that burns with an enduring intensity, he not on- meaning 
ly does not reject, but, on the contrary, recommends by his ° " 
own example. Not only did he spend whole nights in pray- 

(84) 1 Kings, i. 10. 13. (85) Ps. xxvi. 8. 

(86) S. Aug. ad Probam. cap. 8, 9, 10. (87) Matth. vi. 7, 8. 



442 



THE CATECHISM OF 



Note. 



er, (88) but, also, " prayed the third time, saying the self-same 
words;" (89) and the inference, therefore, to be drawn from 
the prohibition is, that prayers consisting of mere empty sounds 
are not to be addressed to God. (90) 
The pray- Neither do the prayers of the hypocrite proceed from the 
hypocrite heart; and from the imitation of their example Christ our Lord 
rejected by Meters us \ n j^gg wor{ j s : « When ye pray, ye shall not be as 
" the hypocrites that love to stand and pray in the synagogues 
" and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men : 
" Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But 
" thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and hav- 
" ing shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret ; and thy Fa- 
" ther who seeth in secret will repay thee." (91) Here the 
word " chamber" maybe understood to mean the human heart, 
into which it is not enough to enter ; it should also be closed 
against every distraction ; and then will our Heavenly Father, 
who sees intuitively our most secret thoughts, hear our prayers 
and grant our petitions. 

Another necessary condition of prayer is importunity. The 
great efficacy of incessant solicitation, the Redeemer exempli- 
fies by the conduct of the judge, who, whilst "he feared not 
" God, nor regarded man," yet overcome by the importunity of 
the widow, yielded to her intreaties. (92) In our prayers to 
God we should, therefore, be importunate; nor are we to imi- 
tate the example of those sluggish souls, who become tired of 
praying, if, after having prayed once or twice, they succeed 
not in obtaining the object of their prayers. We should never 
be weary of a duty, taught us by the authority of Christ our 
Lord and of his Apostles; and should the mind, at any time re- 
lax, we should beg of God by prayer the virtue of perseve- 
rance. 
Our pray- The Son of God, will also have us present our prayers to 
addressed tne Father in his name ; for, by his merits and the grace of his 
to God mediation, our prayers acquire such weight, that they are 
"Christ." heard by our Heavenly Father: " Amen, Amen, I say unto 
" you, if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give 



Importu 
nity in 
prayer. 



(88) Luke, vi. 12. 

(90) Vid. Aug. ep. 121. ad Probam. c. 

(92) Luke, xviii. 2, 3. 



(89) Matth. xxvi. 44. 
(91) Matth. vi. 5, 6. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 443 

" it you. Hitherto you have not asked any thing in my name : 
"ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." (93) 
" If you shall ask me any thing- in my name, that will I do." (94) 

Be it ours, therefore, to emulate the fervor of holy men in J™* m 
prayer ; and to prayer let us unite thanksgiving, imitating the 
example of the Apostles, who, as may be seen in the epistles of 
S. Paul, always observed this salutary practice. To prayer Fasting, 
let us unite fasting and alms-deeds. Fasting is most intimately 
connected with prayer : When cloyed with meat and drink, 
the mind is so pressed down as not to be able to raise itself to 
the contemplation of God, or comprehend the utility of prayer. 
(95) Alms-deeds have also an intimate connexion with pray- Alms- 
er. What pretension has he to charity, who, blessed with 
the means of affording relief to those, who depend for subsist- 
ence on the bounty of others, refuses to stretch forth the hand 
of mercy to a neighbour and a brother ? With what counte- 
nance can he, whose heart is devoid of charity, demand assist- 
ance from the God of charity, unless he, at the same time, im- 
plore the pardon of his sins, and humbly beg of God to infuse 
into his soul the divine virtue of charity ? This triple remedy A triple 
was, therefore, appointed by God to aid man in the attainment reme y ' 
of salvation. When we offend God by sin, wrong our neigh- 
bour, or injure ourselves, we appease the wrath of God by 
prayer : by alms-deeds we redeem our offences against man ; 
and by fasting we appease God, and efface from our own souls 
the stains of sin. Each of these remedies, it is true, is applica- 
ble to every sort of sin; they are, however, peculiarly adapt- 
ed to those which we have specially mentioned. 

(93) John, xvi. 23, 24. (94) John, xiv. 14. 

(95) Vid. hac de re Aug. in Psal. 42. in fine & lib. de perfect, justitia resp. 
1% item S. Leonis serm. 1. de jejunio septimi mensis. Petr. Chrys. serm. 43. 
Bern, in sent, sententia 1 1 . 



THE 



LORD'S PRAYER 



OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN. 



Prefatory As this form of Christian prayer, delivered by Jesus Christ, 
theLord's * s °^ suc ^ J m P or t anoe as to have required the preceding prefa- 
prayer. tory words, which inspire those who approach God piously to 
approach him also more confidently, it becomes the duty of the 
pastor to premise a distinct and perspicuous exposition of them. 
The pious Christian will thus have recourse to prayer with 
increased alacrity, knowing that in prayer he communes with 
God, as with a Father. ( 1 ) To consider the words alone, 
which compose this preface, they are indeed, very few in 
number; but, looking to the matter, they are of the highest 
importance, and are replete with mysteries. 
God, why " Father"] The first word which, by the command and 
f^ le r d ,' Fa " institution of our Lord, we utter in (the Greek and Latin forms 
of) this prayer is " Father." The Redeemer, it is true, might 
have commenced this prayer with a word more expressive of 
Majesty, such as " Creator" or " Lord ;" yet these he omitted, 
as they might be associated with ideas of terror, choosing rath- 
er an expression which inspires love and confidence. What 
name more tender than that of Father ? a name at once expres- 
sive of indulgence and love. (2) 

(1) Orationem Dominicam explicant Tertul. in lib. de ora. Cypr. in lib. de 
Orat. Domin. Cyril. Hierosp. Catech. 5. Mystag. Chrysost. hom. de orat. Dom. 
Hier. Theoph. Euthim. in cap. 6. Marc. Ambr. lib. 4. de sacram. c. 4. Aug. ep. 
121. ad Probam. item de serm. Dom. in monte lib. 2. c. 5, 6, 7, 8, 16. & hom. 
42. item de bono perseverantise c. 2. & seqq. et serm, 126. 135. & 182.de temp, 
item. Cassian. collat. 7. c. 18, 19, 20, 21. D. Thorn, in opuscul. & 2. 2. q. 83. a 9. 

(2) Vid. D. Leon. serm. 6. de nat. Dom. D. Thom. 1. p. queest. 33. art. 1. 



THE CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 445 

The propriety of the word " Father," as applied to God, the First proof 
faithful may be taught from the works of Creation, Govern- pr i e ty of 
ment and Redemption. God created man to his own image ^ion 1 * 61 * 
and likeness, an image and likeness which he impressed not 
on other creatures; and, on account of this peculiar privilege 
with which he adorned man, he is appropriately designated in 
Scripture the Father of all men, the Father not alone of the 
faithful but of all mankind. 

His government of mankind supplies another argument for Second 
the propriety of the appellation. By the exercise of a special pr 
superintending providential care over us and our interests, he 
manifests the love of a Father towards us. But to comprehend 
more clearly the force of this argument, which is drawn from 
his paternal care over us, it may be necessary to say a few 
words on the guardianship of those celestial spirits whom he 
has appointed to watch over, and protect us. 

Angels are commissioned by Divine Providence to guard the Guardian 
human race, and be present with every man to protect him their min- 
from injury. As parents, when their children have occasion to lstry * 
travel a dangerous way, infested by robbers, appoint persons 
to guard and assist them in case of attack ; so has our Heaven- 
ly Father placed over each of us, in our journey towards our 
heavenly country, angels, guarded by whose vigilant care and 
assistance, we may escape the ambushes of our enemies, repel 
their fierce attacks, and proceed directly on our journey, se- 
cured by their guiding protection against the devious tracts 
into which our treacherous enemy would mislead us, and pur- 
suing steadily the path that leads to heaven. 

The important advantages which flow to the human race Proofs of. 
from this special superintending Providence, the functions and 
the administration of which are entrusted to angels, who hold a 
middle place between man and the Divinity, appear from num- 
erous examples recorded in Scripture ; which prove, that an- 
gels, as the ministers of the divine goodness, have frequently 
wrought wonderful things in the sight of men ; and from which 
we are to infer, that innumerable other important services are 
rendered to us by the invisible ministry of angels, the guard- 
ians of our safety and salvation. The angel Raphael, who was I- 



446 THE CATECHISM OF 

appointed by God the companion and guide of Tobias, (3) 
" conducted him, and brought him safe again." (4) He assist- 
ed to save him from being devoured by a large fish, and point- 
ed out to him the singular virtue of its gall and heart: (5) he 
expelled the evil demon, and, by fettering and binding up his 
power, protected Tobias from injury : he taught the young man 
the true and legitimate rights of marriage, and restored to the 
elder Tobias the use of his sight. (6) 

II. The angel who delivered the Prince of the Apostles also af- 
fords abundant matter of instruction on the admirable advanta- 
ges, which flow from the care and guardianship of angels. 
To this event, therefore, the pastor will also call the attention 
of the faithful: he will point to the angel illuminating the dark- 
ness of the prison; awakening Peter by touching his side; 
loosing his chains ; bursting his bonds ; admonishing him to 
rise, and, taking his sandals and other apparel, to follow 

III. him. (7) He will also direct their views to the same angel 
restoring Peter to liberty ; conducting him out of prison 
through the midst of the guards ; throwing open the door of 
his prison; and ultimately placing him in safety without its pre- 
cincts. The sacred Scriptures, as we have already observed, 
abound in examples which give us an idea of the magnitude 
of the benefits conferred on us by the ministry of angels, 
whose tutelary protection is not confined to particular occa- 
sions or persons, but extends to each individual of the human 
race, from the hour of his birth. 

Utility of In the exposition of this point of doctrine, the diligence of 
sitk>n? P it" tne pastor will be rewarded with one important advantage : 
evmcesthethe minds of the faithful will be interested, and excited to ac- 

goodness } 

of God. knowledge and revere the paternal care and providence of 
God. (8) In the first place, the pastor will here exalt and 
proclaim the riches of the goodness of God to man, of that 
God, who, notwithstanding that ever since the transgression 
of our first parents, who entailed upon us the evil consequences 
of sin, we have never ceased to offend him by innumerable 
crimes and enormities, even to the present hour, yet retains 

(3) Tob. v. 6. (4) Tob. xii. (5) Tob. vi. (6) Tob. xii. (7) Acts, xii. 
(8) Si de angelorurn creations et excellentia vis agere, redi ad primum sym- 
boli articulum supra, pag. 24. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 447 

his love for us, and still continues his special care over us. 
To imagine' that he is unmindful of his creatures were insani- 
ty, and nothing less than to hurl against the Deity the most 
blasphemous insult. God is angry with the people of Israel, 
because they suppose themselves deserted by his care : tempt- 
ing the Lord, they said " Is the Lord amongst us or not ?" (9) 
And again, " The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken 
" the earth." (10) The faithful are, therefore, to be deterred 
by these authorities from the impiety of imagining that God can 
at any time be forgetful of man. The Israelites, as we read 
in Isaias, make the complaint against God; and its unreasona- 
bleness God exposes by a similitude,' which breathes nought 
but kindness; " Sion said, the Lord hath forsaken me, and the 
" Lord hath forgotten me :" to which God answers, " Can a 
" woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of 
" her womb ? And if she should forget, yet will not I forget 
" thee. Behold, I have graven thee in my hands." (11) 

Indisputably as these passages establish this truth, yet, to Further e- 

, , .,,.,-.,/., , , . . lucidation 

bring home to the minds of the faithful an absolute conviction, f the same 

that at no time does God forget man, or withdraw from him trutl £ 
the offices of paternal love, the pastor will add to the evidence 
of this truth, by introducing the example of our first parents, 
by which it is so strikingly illustrated. When you hear them 
sharply reproved for having violated the command of God ; 
when you hear their condemnation pronounced in this awful 
sentence, " Cursed is the earth in thy work : with labour and 
" toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life : thorns and 
" thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the 
"herbs of the earth;" (12) when you see them driven out of 
Paradise; when, to extinguish all hope of return, you read that 
a fiery cherub was stationed at the entrance, brandishing 
"a flaming sword, turning everyway;" (13) when you know, 
that to avenge the injury done him, God consigned them to 
every affliction of mind and body ; when you see and know all 
this, would you not be led to pronounce that man was lost ir- 
recoverably ? That he was not only deprived of all assistance 

(9)Exod. xvii. 7. (10) Ezek. viii. 12. (ll).Isa. xlhc. 14, 15, 16. 

(12)Gen.iii. 17, 18. (13) Gen. iii. 23, 24. 



448 THE CATECHISM OF 

from God, but also abandoned to every species of misery ? But, 
although the storm of the divine wrath burst over his guilty 
head, yet the love of God shot a gleam of consolation across 
the darkness that enveloped him. The sacred Scriptures in- 
form us, that " the Lord God made for Adam and his wife gar- 
" ments of skins, and clothed them," (14) a convincing proof, 
that at no time does God abandon his creature man. 
H. That no injuries offered to God by man can exhaust the di- 

vine love, is a truth contained in these words of David, " Will 
"God in his anger shut up his mercies?" (15) And Habacuc, 
addressing himself to God, distinctly says, " When thou art 
"angry, thou wilt remember mercy." (16) " Who is a God 
"like to thee," says Micheas, "who takest away iniquity, and 
" passest by the sin of the remnant of thy inheritance ? He 
" will send his fury in no more, because he delighteth in mer- 
Note. " cy." (17) When, therefore, we imagine that God has aban- 
doned us, that we are deprived of his protection, then, in an es- 
pecial manner, does he, of his infinite goodness, seek after and 
protect us ; for in his anger he stays the sword of his justice, 
and ceases not to pour out the inexhaustible treasures of his 
mercy. 
Third The creation and government of the world, therefore, dis- 

play, in an admirable manner, the singular love and protecting 
care of God ; but amongst these, the great work of redemption 
stands out so prominently, that this God of boundless benefi- 
cence, our Father, has by this third benefit, crowned, and shed 
a lustre on the other invaluable blessings bestowed on us by his 
bounty. The pastor, therefore, will announce to his spiritual 
children, and will sound continually in their ears, this over- 
whelming manifestation of the love of God towards us, in order 
that they may know that, by redemption, they are become, in 
an admirable manner, the children of God: "He gave them 
"power," says S. John, "to be made the sons of God, who 
" are born of God." (18) Therefore it is, that baptism, which 
we receive as the first pledge and memorial of redemption, is 
called " the sacrament of regeneration ;" for thereby we are 

(U) Gen. iii. 21. (15) Ps. lxxvi. 10. (16) Hab. iii. 2. 

(17) Mich. vii. IS. (18) John, i. 12, 13. 



proof. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 449 

born children of God : " That which is born of the Spirit," 
says our Lord, " is spirit : we must be born again;" (19) and 
the apostle Peter says, " Being born again, not of corruptible 
" seed, but incorruptible, by the word of the living God." (20) 
By virtue of our redemption, we have received the Holy Spirit, 
and are dignified with the grace of God, by which we are 
adopted sons of God : " You have not received the spirit of 
" bondage again in fear," says S. Paul, "but you have receiv- 
" ed the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry, Abba, 
" (Father.)" (21) Of this adoption, the force and efficacy are 
explained by S. John, in these words : " Behold what manner 
" of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should 
"be called, and should be the sons of God." (22) 

These truths explained, the pastor will remind the faithful Reciprocal 

n i • i «■ 1-11 ^ i affection 

ot the reciprocal affection which they owe to God, our most due to God 
loving Father, because, by this means, they will comprehend 
what love and piety, what obedience and veneration, they 
should render to their Creator, Governor, and Redeemer, and 
with what hope and confidence they should invoke his name. 

But to instruct the ignorance, and correct the perversity, of God loves 
such as may imagine that prosperity is the only proof of the chastises! 
love of God, and that adversity, with which he may please to vis- 
it us, indicates his hostility, and the utter alienation of his love; 
the pastor will show, that when the hand of the Lord touches 
us, (23) it is not with hostile purpose, but to heal by striking. If 
he chastises the sinner, it is to reclaim him by salutary severity, 
and to rescue him from everlasting perdition, by the infliction 
of present punishment. He visits our iniquities with a rod, and 
our sins with stripes ; but his mercy he taketh not away from 
us. (24) The faithful, therefore, are to be admonished to re- 
cognise, in such chastisements, a proof of his paternal love, to 
keep in their memory, and on their lips, these words of the pa- 
tient Job : " He woundeth and cureth : he striketh and his hand 
" shall heal ;" (25) and to adopt these sentiments, and repeat 
these words of the prophet Jeremiah, spoken in the name of the 
people of Israel: " Thou hast chastised me, and I wasinstruct- 

(19) John, iii. 6, 7. (20) 1 Pet. i. 23. (21) Rom. viii. 15. 

(22) 1 Ep.iii._I. (28) Job. xix. 21. (24) Ps. lxxxviii. S4. 

(25) Job, v. IS. 

57 



450 THE CATECHISM OF 

" ed, as a young bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Convert 
" me, and I shall be converted, for thou art the Lord my God." 
(26) Let them also keep before their eyes the example of To- 
bias, who, when he felt the hand of God upon him, visiting him 
with blindness, exclaimed: "I bless thee, O Lord God of Is- 
"rael, because thou hast chastised me." (27) 
We are not Here the faithful should guard, with the utmost caution, 
affainsUiis a S amst ^ e error of believing, that any afflictions or calamities 
will. befal them, without the knowledge of God. He himself as- 
sures us, that a hair of our head shall not perish ; (28) they 
should rather be cheered by these words, which we read in 
the Apocalypse : " Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise ;"(29) 
and all their apprehensions should be calmed by these exhorta- 
tory words, addressed by S. Paul to the Hebrews, " My son, 
" neglect not the discipline of the Lord, neither be thou wea- 
" ried whilst thou art rebuked by him ; for whom the Lord lov- 
" eth, he chastiseth ; and he scourgeth every son whom he re- 
" ceiveth." (30) 
We are all " Our"J When, under the name of Father, we all invoke 
ofChr^t ^°^' ca ^ m o l" m emphatically " our Father," we are taught 
I. that, as a necessary consequence of the gift and right of divine 
adoption, we are brethren, and should love one another as bre- 
thren ; " You are all brethren," says the Redeemer, " for one 
"is your Father, he that is in heaven;" (31) and hence, in their 
n Epistles, the Apostles call all the faithful brethren. Another 
necessary consequence is, that, by the same divine adoption, 
not only are all the faithful united in one common brotherhood, 
but also called, and really are, brethren of the only begotten 
Son of God, who assumed our nature. Hence, the Apostle, in 
his Epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of the Son of God, says, 
" He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ' I will de- 
" 'clare thy name to my brethren.'" (32) This, David had, 
so many centuries before, prophesied of the Redeemer ; and 
our Lord himself says to the woman mentioned in the Gospel, 
" Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, there they 
Note. " shall see me." (33) This he said after his resurrection, when 

(26) Jerem. xxxi. 18. (27) Tob. xi. 17. (23) Luke, xxi. 18. 

(29) Apoc. iii. 19. (30 j Heb. xii. 5 (31) Matth. xxiii. 8, 9. 

(32) Heb. ii. 1 1, 12. Ps. xxi. 23. ^33) Matth. xxviii. 10. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



451 



in. 



he had put on immortality, lest it should be supposed that this 
fraternal relation was dissolved by his resurrection, and ascen- 
sion into heaven. So far is the resurrection of Christ from dis- 
solving this bond of union and love, that, from the very throne 
on which he will sit on the last day, resplendent with majesty 
and glory, to judge a congregated world, even " the least" of 
the faithful shall be called by the name of brethren. (34) 

But how, possibly, can we be other than brethren of Christ, 
called, as we are, co-heirs with him? He is the first-begotten, 
appointed heir of all ; (35) but we, begotten in the next place, 
are co-heirs with him, according to the measure of heavenly 
gifts, and according to the degree of love with which we ap- 
prove ourselves servants and co-operators of the Holy Ghost. 
By the inspirations of the Holy Ghost we are animated to vir- 
tue, and to meritorious actions ; supported by his grace, we are 
inflamed to engage with fortitude in the combat for salvation, 
the successful termination of which, and of our earthly career, 
will be rewarded by our Heavenly Father with that imperish- 
able crown of justice, which is reserved for all who shall have 
run the same course ; " for God," says the Apostle, " is not un- 
just, that he 'should forget our work and our love." (36) 

But with what sentiments of heart-felt piety we should utter The word 

' our' to be 
the word "our," these words of S. Chrysostom declare : uttered 

" God," says he, "willingly hears the prayer of a Christian, jjjlj^f" 
" not only when offered for himself, but for another. Neces- 
sity obliges us to pray for ourselves ; charity exhorts us to 
" pray for others. The prayer of fraternal charity," he adds, 
"is more acceptable to God than that of necessity." (37) 

On the subject of prayer, a subject so important, so saluta- 0ur de_ 
ry, it becomes the duty of the pastor to admonish and exhort towards 
all his hearers, of every age, sex and rank, to be mind- °^ ou y be _ 
ful of this common brotherhood, and, instead of arrogating to s P eakf ra- 
themselves an insolent superiority over others, to exhibit in ga rd : our 
their conduct the bearing and the tone of fraternal regard 
True, there are many gradations of office in the Church of hood. 
God, yet that diversity of rank is far from severing the bond 



common 
brother- 



(34) Matth. xxv. 40. (35) Rom. viii. 17. Heb. 
(37) Chrys. hom. 14, operis imperfecti in Matt. 



(36) Heb. vi. 10. 



452 THE CATECHISM OF 

of this fraternal relationship ; in the same manner as variety of 
use and diversity of office do not cause this or that member of 
the same body to forfeit the name or functions of a member. 
The monarch, seated on his throne, and bearing the sceptre 
of royal authority, as one of the faithful, is the brother of all 
who are within the communion of the Christian faith. There 
is not one God the Creator of the rich, another of the poor; 
one of kings, another of subjects ; but there is one God, who 
is common Lord and Father of all. Considering their spiritual 
origin, the nobility of all is, therefore, the same, born, as we 
all are, of the same spirit, through the same sacrament of faith, 
children of God, and co-heirs to the same immortal inherit- 
ance. The wealthy and the great have not one Christ for 
their God, the poor and the lowly another ; they are not initi- 
ated by different sacraments ; they do not expect a different 
inheritance. No, we are all brethren ; in the language of the 
Apostle, " We are members of Christ's body, of his flesh, and 
" of his bones." (39) " You are all the children of God, by 
" faith in Christ Jesus ; for as many of you as have been bap- 
" tised in Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew 
" nor Greek ; there is neither bond nor free ; there is neither 
" male nor female ; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (40) 
This doc- This is a subject which the pastor should handle with all 
forcibly in- P oss ^le care : on its consideration he cannot expend too much 
cuicated knowledge and ability ; because it is not less calculated to 
tor. fortify and sustain the indigent and the lowly, than to restrain 

and repress the arrogance of the rich, and the pride of the 
powerful. It was to remedy this evil, that the Apostle so for- 
cibly pressed on the attention of the faithful this principle of 
fraternal charity. 
In what When, therefore, O Christian, you are about to address this 
K'dut- P ra y er to Gocl > remember that you, as a son, approach God 
ter the your Father ; and when you begin the prayer, and utter the 

words 'our 

'Father.' words " our Father," reflect, for a moment, how exalted the 
dignity to which the infinite love of God has raised you. He 
commands you to approach him, not with the reluctance 
and timidity of a servant approaching his Lord, but with the 

(39) Eph. v. 30. (40) Gal. iii. 26, 27, 28. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 453 

eagerness and the security of a child flying to the bosom of 
his father. Consider, also, with what recollection and atten- 
tion, with what care and devotion, you should approach him 
in prayer. You must approach him as becomes a child of 
God : your prayers and actions must be such, as not to be un- 
worthy of that divine origin with which it has pleased your 
most gracious God to ennoble you ; a duty to which the Apos- 
tle exhorts, when he says, " Be ye, therefore, followers of 
"God, as most dear children ;"(41) that of us may be truly 
said, what the Apostle wrote to the Thessalonians, " You are 
" all the children of light, and the children of the day." (42) 

" Who art in Heaven"] All who have a correct idea God every 
of the Divinity agree, that God is every where present. This, what s ' ense 
however, is not to be understood, as if he consisted of parts, 
filling and governing one place with one part, another place 
with another; for God is a spirit, and is, therefore, indivisible. 
Who would presume to circumscribe within the limits of any 
place, or confine to any particular spot, Him, who says of 
himself, " Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" (43) Yes, 
by his power and virtue he fills heaven and earth, and all 
things contained therein. He is present with all things, creat- 
ing them, or preserving them when already created ; whilst he 
himself is confined to no place, is circumscribed by no limits, 
is defined by nothing to prevent his being present every where 
by his immensity and omnipotence. " If," says the Psalmist, 
" I ascend into heaven, thou art there." (44) 

God, although present in all places, and in all things, and, Why said 
as we have already observed, circumscribed by no limits, is, ciallVuT 
however, frequently said in Scripture, to have his dwelling in heaven - 
the heavens, because the heavens which we see are the no- 
blest part of the visible world, undecaying in splendor, excell- 
ing all other objects in power, magnitude, beauty, and moving 
with uniform and harmonious revolution. To elevate the soul II. 
of man to the contemplation of his infinite power and majesty, 
which shine forth with such splendor in the expanse of heaven, 
God, therefore, declares that his dwelling is in the heavens. He 

(41) Eph. v. 1. (42) 1 Thess. v. 5. (43 J Jerem. xxiii. 24. 

(44) Ps. cxxxviii. 8. Aug. lib. 1. Conf. c. 3. D. Thorn, l.p. q. 8. art. 2. 



454 THE CATECHISM OF 

also frequently declares that there is no part of creation that 
is not filled by his Divinity and power, which are every where 

III. present. In the consideration of this subject, the faithful will, 
however, propose to themselves not only the image of the uni- 
versal Father of mankind, but also that of God reigning in hea- 
ven, in order that, when approaching him in prayer, they may 
recollect that heart and soul are to be raised to heaven. The 
transcendant nature and divine majesty of our Father who is in 
heaven, should inspire us with as much Christian humility and 
piety, as the name of father should fill us with love and confi- 
dence. 

IV. These words also inform us what are to be the objects of our 
prayers. All our supplications offered for the useful and ne- 
cessary things of this life, unless united to the bliss of heaven, 
and referred to that end, are to no purpose, and are unworthy 

Note, of a Christian. Of this manner of praying, the pastor, there- 
fore, will admonish his pious hearers, and will strengthen the 
admonition with the authority of the Apostle: "If," says he, 
" you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, 
" where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Mind the 
" things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth." 
(45) 

(45) Coloss. iii. 1,2. 



"HALLOWED BE THY NAME. 



Objects What should be the objects and the order of our prayers, 

of our Gr we l earn fr° m tne Lord and Master of all ; for as prayer is the 
prayers, envoy and interpreter of our wishes and desires, we then pray 
as we ought, when the order of our prayers corresponds with 
that of their objects. True charity admonishes us to conse- 
crate to God our whole soul, with all its affections, because, 
constituting in himself alone the supreme good, he justly com- 
mands our particular and especial love ; and this love we can- 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 455 

not cherish towards him, unless we prefer his honor and glory- 
to all created things. Whatever good we or others enjoy, 
whatever, in a word, man can name, must yield to him, be- 
cause emanating from him, who is the supreme good. In or- 
der, therefore, that our prayers may proceed in due order, our 
divine Redeemer has placed this petition, which regards our 
chief good, at the head of the others ; thus teaching us that, be- 
fore we pray for any thing for our neighbour or ourselves, we 
should pray for those things which appertain to the glory of 
God, and make known to him our wishes and desires for their 
accomplishment. Thus shall we remain in charity, which 
teaches us to love God more than ourselves, and to make those 
things which we desire for the sake of God the first, and what 
we desire for ourselves the next object of our prayers. 

But as desires and petitions regard things which we want, Object of 
and as God, that is to say, his divine nature, can receive no ac- tionasit 
cession, nor can the Divinity, adorned as he is, after an ineffa- T q%™ s 
ble manner, with all perfections, admit of increase, the faith- 
ful are to understand that what we pray for to God regarding 
himself, belongs not to his intrinsic perfections, but to his ex- 
ternal glory. We desire and pray that his name may be bet- 
ter known to the nations ; that his kingdom may be extended ; 
and that the number of his faithful servants may he every day 
increased ; three things, his name, his kingdom, and the num- 
ber of his faithful servants, which regard not his essence, but 
his extrinsic glory. 

When we pray that the name of God may be hallowed, we What we 
mean that the sanctity and glory of his name may be increased ; !f!** qit !? 
and here the pastor will inform his pious hearers, that our Lord tion. 
does not teach us to pray that it be hallowed on earth as it is in 
heaven, that is, in the same manner, and with the same perfec- 
tion, for that is impossible ; but that it be hallowed through 
love, and from the inmost affection of the soul. True, in itself, 
his name requires not to be hallowed ; " it is holy and terrible," 
(1) even as he himself is holy ; nothing can be added to the ho- 
liness which is his from eternity ; yet, as on earth he is much 
less honored than he should be, and is even sometimes dishon- 

(1) Ps. xcviii. 3. 



456 THE CATECHISM OF 

ored by impious oaths and blasphemous execrations ; we, there- 
fore, desire and pray that his name may be celebrated with 
praise, honor and glory, as it is praised, honored and glorified 
in heaven. We pray that his honor and glory may be so con- 
stantly in our hearts, in our souls, and on our lips, that we may 
glorify him with all veneration, both internal and external, and, 
like the citizens of heaven, celebrate, with all the energies of 
our being, the praises of the holy and glorious God. We pray 
that, as the blessed spirits in heaven praise and glorify God 
with one mind and one accord, mankind may do the same ; that 
all men may embrace the religion of Christ, and, dedicating 
themselves unreservedly to God, may believe that he is the 
fountain of all holiness, and that there is nothing pure or holy 
that does not emanate from the holiness of his divine name. Ac- 
cording to the Apostle, the Church is cleansed "by the laver 
" of water in the word of life ;" (2) meaning by " the word of 
" life," the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy 

II. Ghost, in which we are baptised and sanctified. As, then, for 
those on whom his name is not invoked, there can exist no ex- 
piation, no purity, no integrity, we desire and pray that man- 
kind, emerging from the darkness of infidelity, and illumined 
by the rays of the divine light, may confess the power of his 
name ; that seeking him in true sanctity, and receiving by his 
grace the sacrament of baptism, in the name of the holy and un- 
divided Trinity, they may arrive at perfect holiness. 

III. Our prayers and petitions also regard those who have for- 
feited the purity of baptism, and sullied the robe of innocence, 
thus introducing again into their unhappy souls the foul spirit 
that before possessed them. We desire, and beseech God, 
that in them also may his name be hallowed ; that, entering in- 
to themselves, and returning to the paths of true wisdom, they 
may recover, through the sacrament of penance, their lost ho- 
liness, and become pure and holy temples, in which God may 
dwell. 

IV. We also pray that God would shed his light on the minds of 
all, to enable them to see that " every good and perfect gift, 
" coming from the Father of light," (3) proceeds from his boun- 

(2) Eph. v. 26. (3j James, i. 17. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 457 

ty, and to refer to him temperance, justice, life, salvation. In 
a word, we pray that all external blessings of soul and body, 
which regard life and salvation, may be referred to him, whose 
hands, as the Church proclaims, shower down every bless- 
ing on the world. Does the sun, by his light, do the oth- 
er heavenly bodies, by the harmony of their motions, min- 
ister to man ? Is life maintained by the respiration of that 
pure air which surrounds us ? Are all living creatures 
supported by that profusion of fruits, and of vegetable pro- 
ductions, with which the earth is enriched and diversified ? 
Do we enjoy the blessings of peace and tranquillity, through 
the agency of the civil magistrate ? All these, and innumera- 
ble other blessings, we receive from the infinite goodness of 
God. Nay, those causes, which philosophers term " seconda- 
re rV) » W e should consider as instruments wonderfully adapted 
to our use, by which the hand of God distributes to us his 
blessings, and showers them upon us with liberal profusion. 

But the principal object to which this petition refers is, that v - 
all recognise and revere the Spouse of Christ, our most holy 
mother the Church, in whom alone is that copious and peren- 
nial fountain, which cleanses and effaces the stains of sin ; from 
whom we receive all the sacraments of salvation and sanctifi- 
cation, which are, as it were, so many celestial conduits, con- 
veying to us the fertilizing dew which sanctifies the soul ; to 
whom alone, and to those whom she embraces and fosters in 
her maternal bosom, belongs the invocation of that divine 
name, which alone, under heaven, is given to men, whereby 
they can be saved. (4) 

The pastor will urge with peculiar emphasis, that it is the Note, 
part of a dutiful child not only to pray for his father in word, 
but, in deed and in work, to endeavour to afford a bright ex- 
ample of the sanctification of his holy name. Would to God 
that there were none, who, whilst they pray daily for the 
sanctification of the name of God, violate and profane it, as 
far as on them depends, by their conduct ; who are sometimes 
the guilty cause why God himself is blasphemed ; and of whom 

(4) Acts, iv. 12. Vid. Aug. serm. 181. de tempore & Greg. lib. 35. Moral. 
:. 6. 

58 



458 THE CATECHISM OF 

the Apostle has said : " The name of God through you is 
"blasphemed amongst the Gentiles," (5) and Ezekiel: " They 
" entered amongst the nations whither they went and profaned 
" my holy name, where it was said of them, this is the people 
" of the Lord, and they are come forth out of his land." (6) 
Their lives and morals are the standard by which the unlet- 
tered multitude judge of religion itself and of its founder : to 
live, therefore, according to its rules, and to regulate their 
words and actions according to its maxims, is to give others 
an edifying example, by which they will be powerfully stimu- 
lated to praise, honor, and glorify the name of our Father who 
is in heaven. To excite others to the praise and exaltation of 
the divine name is an obligation, w r hich our Lord himself has 
imposed on us : " Let your light so shine before men, that they 
" may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in 
" heaven;" (7) and the prince of the Apostles says: " Having 
"your conversation good among the Gentiles, that, by the 
" good works which they shall behold in you, they may glo- 
" rify God in the day of visitation." (8) 

(5) Rom. ii. 24. (6) Ezek. xxxvi. 20. (7) Matth. v. 16. (8) 1 Pet. ii. 12 



THY KINGDOM COME. 



The king- The kingdom of heaven, which we pray for in this second 
heaven the petition, is the great end to which is referred, in which ter- 
s reat ? nd minates, all the preaching of the Gospel : from it S. John the 
the Gospel Baptist commenced his exhortation of penance, "Do penance, 
is referred. u foj . ^ kingdom of heaven is at hand;" (1) and with it the 
Saviour of the world opens his preaching. (2) In that admira- 
ble discourse on the mount, in which he points out to his dis- 
ciples the way to everlasting life, having proposed to himself, 
as it were, the subject-matter of his discourse, he commences 

(1) Matth. hi. 2. (2) Matth. iv. 17. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 459 

with the kingdom of heaven : " Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
" for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ;" (3) and to those who 
would detain him with them, he assigned as the cause of his 
departure the necessity of preaching the kingdom of heaven : 
" To other cities, also, I must preach the kingdom of God ; 
" therefore am I sent." (4) This kingdom he afterwards com- 
manded the Apostles to preach; (5) and to him who express- 
ed a wish " to go and bury his father," he replied : " Go thou, 
" and preach the kingdom of God ;" (6) and after he had risen 
from the dead, " for forty days speaking to his Apostles, he 
u spoke of the kingdom of God." (7) 

This second petition, therefore, the pastor will treat with Duty of 
the greatest attention, in order to impress on the minds of the e pas or ' 
faithful its paramount importance and necessity. In the first 
place, he will find its judicious and accurate exposition much 
facilitated by the reflection, that the Redeemer himself com- 
manded this petition, although united to the others, to be also 
offered separately, in order that we may seek with the great- 
est earnestness the object of our prayer: " Seek first the king- 
" dom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be giv- 
" en you besides." (8) 

And, indeed, so great is the abundance of heavenly gifts con- Compre- 
tained in this petition, that it embodies all things necessary for neS8 ofthj a 
the security of soul and body. The king, who pays no atten- P etition - 
tion to those things en which depends the safety of his king- 
dom, we should deem unworthy of the name. What then must 
be the solicitude, what the providential care, with which the 
King of kings guards the life and safety of man ? When, there- 
fore, we say, " Thy kingdom come," we compress within the 
small compass of this petition all that we stand in need of in our 
present pilgrimage or rather exile, and all this God graciously 
promises to grant us : He immediately subjoins : " All these 
" things shall be given you besides ;" thus unequivocally de- 
claring, that he is that king who, with bountiful hand, bestows 
upon man an abundance of all things ; in the contemplation of 
whose infinite goodness David was enraptured when he poured 

(3) Matth. v. 3. (4) Luke, iv. 43. (5) Matth. x. 7. 

(6) Luke, \x. 60. (,T) Acts, i. 3. (8) Matth. vi. 33. 



460 THE CATECHISM OF 

out these words of inspired song : " The Lord ruleth me and 
" I shall want nothing." (9) 
Means of Not enough, however, that we utter an earnest petition for 
whatwlf tne kingdom of God ; we must also make use of all those means, 
ask in this by w hich it is sought and found. The five foolish virgins ut- 
tered the same earnest petition in these words : " Lord, Lord, 
" open to us ;" (10) but they used not the means necessary to se- 
cure its attainment, and were, therefore, excluded : " Not eve- 
" ry one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king- 
" dom of heaven." (11) 
Motives to The priest, therefore, who is charged with the care of souls, 
tiort of P " wn "l draw from the exhaustless fountain of inspiration those 

these powerful motives, which are calculated to excite the faithful to 

means. * ' 

I. the desire and pursuit of the kingdom of heaven ; which pour- 
tray in vivid colouring our deplorable condition ; and which 
should make so sensible an impression upon them, that enter- 
ing into themselves they may call to mind that supreme felici- 
ty and those unspeakable joys with which the eternal abode of 

II- God our Father abounds. In this nether world we are exiles, 
inhabitants of a land, in which, also, dwell those demons who 
wage against us an interminable warfare ; who are the deter- 
mined and implacable foes of mankind. What shall we say of 
those intestine conflicts and domestic battles in which the soul 
and the body, the flesh and the spirit, are continually engaged 
against each other ? (12) in which we have always to appre- 
hend defeat ; nay, in which instant defeat becomes inevitable, 
unless we be defended by the protecting hand of God. Feel- 
ing this weight of misery the Apostle exclaims: "Unhappy 
" man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this 
"death." (13) 

III- The misery of our condition, it is true, strikes us at once of 
itself, but, if contrasted with that of other creatures, it strikes 
us still more forcibly. Although irrational and even inanimate, 
they are seldom seen to depart from the acts, the instincts, the 
movements imparted to them by nature, so as to fail in obtain- 
ing their proposed and determinate end. This is too obvious 

(9) Ps. xxii. 1. (10) Matth. xxv. 11. (ll)Matth. vii. 21. 

(12) Gal. v. 17. (13) Rom. vii. 24. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. # 461 

in the irrational portion of creation, in beasts, fishes and birds, 
to require elucidation; but if we look to the heavens, do we not 
behold the verification of these words of David ? "For ever, 
" O Lord, thy word standeth firm in the heavens." (14) Con- 
stant in their motions, uninterrupted in their revolutions, they 
never depart in the least from the laws prescribed by the Cre- 
ator. The earth, too, and universal nature, as we at once per- 
ceive, adhere strictly to, or, at least, depart but very little 
from, the laws of their being. But, unhappy man is often guil- 
ty of this deordination : he seldom realizes his good purposes, 
but generally abandons and despises what he has well commen- 
ced : his best resolutions, which pleased for a time, are often 
suddenly abandoned ; and he plunges with blind precipitancy 
into designs as degrading as they are pernicious. What then 
is the cause of this misery and inconstancy ? Manifestly a con- 
tempt of the divine inspirations. We close our ears to the ad- 
monitions of God, our eyes to the divine lights which shine be- 
fore us, our hearts against those salutary precepts which are 
delivered by our heavenly Father. 

To paint to the eyes of the faithful the misery of man's con- Dut y of 

, : . . ■ , " . . n . , the pastor. 

dition, to detail its various causes, and to point out the reme- 
dies prescribed for its removal, are, therefore, amongst the 
objects which should employ the most zealous exertions of the 
pastor ; and, in the discharge of this duty, his labour will be not 
a little facilitated by pressing into his service what has been 
said on the subject by SS. Chrysostom and Augustine, men 
eminent for sanctity ; and still more by consulting our exposi- 
tion of the Creed. Who so abandoned as, with a knowledge 
of these truths, and aided by the preventing grace of God, not 
to endeavour, like the prodigal son mentioned in the Gospel, 
(15) to rise from his abasement, and hasten into the presence 
of his heavenly Father and king ? (16) 

Having explained these matters, the pastor will proceed to Meaningof 
point out the advantages to be derived by the faithful from this 'kingdom 
petition, and the objects for which it sues. This becomes the God- ' 

(14) Ps. cxviii. 89. (15) Luke, xv. 

(16) Vid. Chrys. in Ps. 118. & in c. 4. Isai. & horn. 62. ad pop. Antioch. 
item. & hom. 69. &in serm. de vanit. & brevit. vitae. Aug. lib. 10. Confess, c. 
28 & 3 1 . & lib. 21. decivit. Dei, c. 14. & lib. 21. c. 22. 



462 THE CATECHISM OF 

more necessary, as the words, " kingdom of God," have a va- 
riety of significations, the exposition of each of which will not 
be found without its advantages in elucidating other passages 
of Scripture, and is here indispensably necessary. 
I- The words " kingdom of God," ordinarily signify not only 

that power which he possesses over all men, and over univer- 
sal creation, a sense in which they frequently occur in Scrip- 
ture, but, also, his providence which rules and governs the 
world : " In his hands," says the Prophet, are all the ends of 
the earth. (17) The word " ends" includes those things, also, 
which lie buried in the depths of the earth, and are concealed 
in the most hidden recesses of creation ;-and in this sense Mar- 
dochseus exclaims : " O Lord, Lord, Almighty King, for all 
" things are in thy power, and there is none that can resist thy 
" will : thou art Lord of all, and there is none that can resist thy 
"Majesty." (18) 
II. By " the kingdom of God" is also understood that special 

providence by which God protects, and watches over, pious 
Note, and holy men ; and of this David speaks, when he says : " The 
Lord rules me, I shall want nothing," (19) and Isaias: "The 
Lord our king he will save us." (20) But although, even 
in this life, the pious and the holy are, as we have already ob- 
served, placed, in a special manner, under this kingly power of 
God ; yet our Lord himself informed Pilate that his king- 
dom was not of this world, (21) that is to say, had not its ori- 
gin in this world, which was created, and is doomed to perish. 
This is the temporary tenure on which empire is held by 
Kings, Emperors, Commonwealths, Rulers, and all whose ti- 
tles to the government of States and Provinces is founded upon 
the desire or election of men, or who, in the absence of legiti- 
mate title, have intruded themselves, by violent and unjust 
usurpation, into sovereign power. Not so Christ our Lord, 
who, as the Prophet declares, is appointed king by God, (22) 
and whose kingdom, as the Apostle says, is "justice:" " The 
" kingdom of God is justice and peace, and joy in the Holy 
" Ghost." (23) Christ our Lord reigns in us by the interior vir- 
tues of justice, faith, hope and charity, which constitute us a 

(H) Ps. xciv. 4. (IS) Esth. xiii. 9. (19) Ps. xxii. 1. 

(20)Isa. xxxiii. 22. (21) John, xviii. 36. (22) Ps. ii. 6. 

(23) Rom. xiv. 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 463 

portion, as it were, of his kingdom. Subject, in a peculiar 
manner, to God, we are consecrated to his worship ; and, as the 
Apostle said, " I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me j" (24) 
so may we too say, "I reign, yet not T, but Christ reignefh in 
" me." 

This kingdom is called "justice," because it has for its basis J hls kin S" 
the justice of Christ our Lord; and of it our Lord says in S. called 'jus- 
Luke : " The kingdom of God is within you." (25) Jesus 
Christ, it is true, reigns by faith in all who are within the bo- 
som of our Holy Mother, the church ; yet does he reign in a 
special manner over those, who, animated by faith, enlivened 
by hope, and inflamed by charity, have yielded themselves 
pure.and living members to God, and in whom the kingdom of 
God's grace is said to consist. 

By the words " kingdom of God" is also meant that king- HI. 
dom of his glory of which Christ our Lord says in S. Matthew : 
" Come ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom which 
" was prepared for you from the beginning of the world." (26) 
This kingdom the thief, acknowledging bis crimes, begged of 
him in these words : " Lord, remember me, when thou comest 
"into thy kingdom:" (27) of this kingdom S. John speaks 
when he says : " Unless a man be born again of water and the 
" spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God ;" (28) and 
of it the Apostle says in his Epistle to the Ephesians : " No 
" fornication, or unclean, or covetous person (which is a serv- 
" ing of idols) hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of 
" God." (29) To it also refer some of the parables made 
use of by our Lord, when speaking of the kingdom of heaven. 
(30) 

But the kingdom of grace must precede that of glory : in The king- 
him, in whom his grace does not reign, his glory cannot reign. d °™ e °[ nd 
Grace, according to the Redeemer, is "a fountain of living of glory. 
" water springing up to eternal life;" (31) nor can we desig- 
nate glory otherwise than a certain perfect and absolute grace. 
Whilst we are clothed with this frail mortal flesh ; whilst, faint 
and wandering in this gloomy pilgrimage and dreary exile, we 

(24) Gal. ii. 29. (25) Luke, xvii. 21. (26) Matth. xxv. 34. 

(27) Luke, xxiii. 4. (28) John, iii. 5. (29) Eph. v. 5. 

(30) Matth. xiii. (31) John, iv. 14. 



464 THE CATECHISM OF 

are separated from God, rejecting the aid of the kingdom of 
grace which supported us, we often stumble and fall; but, 
when the light of the kingdom of glory, which is perfect, 
shall have shone upon us, we shall stand for ever firm and im- 
moveable. Then shall every imperfection be eradicated, and 
every inconvenience removed ; then shall every infirmity be 
strengthened and every weakness invigorated ; in a word, 
God himself will then reign in our souls and bodies. But, on 
this subject we dwelt already at considerable length, in the 
exposition of the Creed. (32) 
Obj ects of Having thus explained the ordinary acceptation of the words, 
tion Petl " "kingdom of God," we now come to point out the particular 
I. objects contemplated by this petition. In this petition we 
pray that the kingdom of Christ, that is, his Church, may be 
enlarged; that Jews and infidels, may embrace the faith of 
Christ, and the knowledge of the true God ; that schismat- 
ics and heretics may return to soundness of mind, and to the 
communion of the Church of God, which they have deserted ; 
and that thus may be fulfilled the words of the Lord, spoken 
by the mouth of Isaias: "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and 
" stretch out the skins of thy tabernacles : lengthen thy cords, 
" and strengthen thy stakes, for thou shalt pass on to the right 
" hand and to the left, for he that made thee shall rule over 
" thee." (33) And again, " The Gentiles shall walk in thy 
" light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising ; lift up thy 
" eyes round about and see : all these are gathered together, 
" they are come to thee : thy sons shall come from afar, and thy 
"daughters shall rise up at thy side." (34) 
II. But it is a melancholy truth, that, in the Church of God, 

there are to be found those " who profess they know God, but 
" in their works deny him ;" (35) whose conduct is a reproach 
to the faith which they glory to profess ; who, by sinning, be- 
come the dwelling-place of the devil, where he exercises un- 
controlled dominion. Therefore do we pray that the kingdom 
of God may also come to them, by which, the darkness of sin 
being dispelled from around them, and their minds being illu- 

(32) See article, "Resurrection of the body." (33) Isa. liv. 2. 
(34) Isa. lx. 3. (35) Tit. i. 16. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 465 

mined by the rays of the divine light, they may be restored to 
their lost dignity of children of God ; that, heresy and schism 
being removed, and all offences and causes of sins being eradi- 
cated from his kingdom, our heavenly Father may cleanse the 
floor of his Church; and that, worshipping G od in piety and ho- 
liness, she may enjoy undisturbed peace and tranquillity. 

Finally, we pray that God alone may live, alone may reign, III. 
within us ; that death may no longer exist, but may be absorb- 
ed in the victory achieved by Christ our Lord, who, having 
broken and scattered the power of his enemies, may, in his 
might, subject all things to his dominion. 

The pastor will also be mindful to teach the faithful, and Duty of 
this the nature of the petition demands, the thoughts and refiec- e pas or " 
tions with which their minds should be impressed, in order to 
offer this prayer devoutly to God. He will exhort them, in the 
first place, to consider the force and import of that similitude 
of the Redeemer: " The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure 
" hidden in a field ; which a man having found, hid it, and for 
"joy thereof, goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that 
" field." (36) He who knows the riches of Christ the Lord 
will despise all things when compared to them : to him, wealth, 
riches, power, will appear as dross ; nothing can be compared 
to, or stand in competition with that inestimable treasure. 
Whoever, then, is blessed with this knowledge, will say with 
the Apostle, " I count all things to be but loss, and count them 
" but as dung, that I may gain Christ." (37) This is that pre- 
cious jewel of the Gospel, to purchase which, he who sells all 
his earthly goods shall enjoy an eternity of bliss. (38) Happy 
we, should Jesus Christ shed so much light on our minds, as to 
enable us to discover this jewel of divine grace, by which he 
reigns in the hearts of those that are his. Then should we be 
prepared to sell all that we have on earth, even ourselves, to 
purchase and secure its possession ; then might we say with 
confidence, " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?" 
(39) But would we know the incomparable excellence of the 
kingdom of God's glory, let us hear the concurring sentiments 

(36) Matth. xiii. 44. (37) Phillipp. iii. 8. (38; Matth. xxiii. 45. 

(39) Rom. viii. 35. 



466 THE CATECHISM OF 

of the Prophet and of the Apostle : " Eye hath not seen, nor ear 

"heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what 

" things God hath prepared for them that love him." (40) 

To obtain To obtain the object of our prayers, it will be found most 

of our available to consider seriously who we are ; children of Adam, 

prayers, exiled from Paradise by a just sentence of banishment, and de- 

humihty a . 

necessary serving, by our unworthiness and perversity, to become the ob- 
its fruits?" J ecls °f God's hatred, and to be doomed to eternal punishment. 
This consideration should excite in us sentiments of unfeigned 
humility, sentiments, too, which our prayers should piously 
breathe. Diffiding entirely in ourselves, like the Publican,we will 
fly to the mercy of God : attributing all to his bounty, we will 
render immortal thanks to him who has imparted to us his Ho- 
ly Spirit : that Holy Spirit, encouraged by whom, we are embol- 
dened to say, " Abba, Father." (41) We shall also be careful 
to consider what is to be done, what avoided, in order to ar- 
rive at the kingdom of heaven. We are not called by God to 
lead lives of ease and indolence; he himself declares, that " the 
" kingdom of God suffereth violence, and the violent bear it 
" away," (42) and that if we will enter into life, we must keep the 
Note, commandments. (43) Not enough, therefore, that we seek the 
kingdom of God : we must also use our best exertions for its 
attainment ; and it is a duty incumbent onus to co-operate with 
the grace of God in pursuing the path that leads to heaven. 
God never abandons us : he has promised to be with us at all 
times ; and we have, therefore, only not to forsake God, or 
abandon ourselves. 
Succours * n tms kingdom of God, which is his Church, he has provid- 
to be found e d a H those succours by which he defends the life of man, and 
kingdom, accomplishes his eternal salvation ; whether they are invisible 
to us, such as those which we receive from the ministry of the 
hosts of angelic spirits, or visible, such as we receive from the 
sacraments, those unfailing sources of celestial virtue. Defend- 
ed by these safe-guards, not only may we securely defy the as- 
saults of our most determined enemies, but may even lay pros- 
trate, and trample under foot, the fell tyrant himself, with all his 
infernal legions. 

(40) Isa. lxiv. 2. 1 Cor. ii. 9. (41) Rom. viii. 15. 

(42) Matth. xi. 12. (43) Matth. xix. 17. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 46 T 

In conclusion, let us, then, earnestly implore of God the effu- IV. 
sion of his Divine Spirit, that he may command us to do all 
things in accordance with his holy will ; that he may overthrow 
the empire of Satan, so as to have no power over us on the 
great accounting day ; that Christ may be victorious and tri- 
umphant; that the divine influence of his law may be spread 
throughout the world ; that his ordinances may be observed ; 
that there he found no traitor to, no deserter from, his standard ; 
and that all may so conduct themselves, as to come with joy in- 
to the presence of God their King, and may reach the posses- 
sion of the celestial kingdom, prepared for them from all eter- 
nity, in the fruition of endless bliss with Christ Jesus. 



"THY WILL BE DONE. 



This should be the prayer of all who desire to enter into the Propriety 
kingdom of heaven. Christ our Lord has said, " Not every one °[ P la !? in £ 
" that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom ofthepreced- 
" heaven ; but he that doth the will of my Father who is in uob^ '" 
" heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;" (1) and 
therefore does this petition immediately succeed that, which 
prays for the coming of his kingdom. 

But in order that the faithful may appreciate the necessity of T . 
the object of this petition, and may estimate the numerous and ty: misery 
salutary gifts which we obtain through its concession, the pas- i. 
tor will direct their attention to the misery and wretchedness 
in which primeval guilt has involved mankind. From the be- 
ginning, God implanted in all creatures an inborn desire of 
pursuing their own happiness, that, by a sort of natural 
impulse, they may seek and desire their proper end, an 
end from which they never deviate, unless impeded by some 
external obstacle which opposes their progress. This pro- 
pensity existed originally in man, and, endowed, as he is, with 
reason and judgment, was in him a noble and exalted princi- 

(1) Matth. vii. 21. 



468 THE CATECHISM OF 

pie, impelling him earnestly to desire God : but, whilst irra- 
tional creatures, which, coming from the hand of God, were 
good, preserved their instinctive impulse, and thus continued, 
and still continue, in their original state and condition, man, 
unhappy man, no longer guided by the innate principle of his 
being, ran into a devious course, and lost not only original jus- 
tice, with which he had been supernaturally gifted and adorn- 
ed, but, also, weakened the predominant desire of the soul, in- 
fused into it by the Creator, the love of virtue. " All have gone 
" aside : they are become unprofitable together: there is none 
"that doth good, no, not one." (2) " Man is inclined to evil 
" from his youth." (3) Hence, it is not difficult to perceive, 
that of himself no man is wise unto salvation ; that all are 
prone to evil ; and that man is a slave to innumerable corrupt 
propensities, which hurry him along with precipitancy to an- 
ger, hatred, pride, ambition, and almost to every species of 
evil. 
II. Although continually beset by these evils, yet, and this is 

the greatest evil of all, many of them appear to us not to be 
evils, a melancholy proof of the calamitous condition of fallen 
man, who, blinded by passion, sees not that what he deems 
salutary, generally contains a deadly poison ; whilst those 
things which are really good and virtuous, are shunned as the 
contrary. Of this false estimate and corrupt judgment of man, 
God thus expresses his detestation : " Wo to you that call evil 
" good, and good evil ; that put darkness for light, and light 
" for darkness ; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." 
(4) 
Scriptural 1° order, therefore, to delineate in vivid colouring the mise- 
lllustration r y f our condition, the sacred Scripture compares us to those 
who have lost the natural sense of taste, and who, in conse- 
quence, loathing wholesome food, relish only what is unwhole- 
some. It also compares us to sick persons, for as they, whilst 
in a weak state, are unable to fill those offices, or discharge 
those duties, which require the vigor and activity of health ; 
so, neither can we, without the assistance of divine grace, 
perform those actions which are acceptable to God. Should 

(2) P S . lii. 4. (3) Gen. riii. 21. (4) Isai. v. 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 469 

we even, thus unassisted, be able to accomplish some good, it 
is but trivia], and of little or no advantage towards the attain- 
ment of salvation. To love and serve God as we ought is 
more than our natural strength can accomplish in our present 
feeble condition, unless assisted by the grace of God. 

Another most appropriate comparison is that by which we n - 
are likened to children, who, with a fickleness characteristic 
of their age, are, if left to their own discretion, hastily caught 
by every thing that presents itself. We, indeed, are children, 
the moment we are destitute of the divine protection : like 
them we too are the dupes of our own imprudence ; and no less 
silly, we amuse ourselves with frivolous conversations, and 
fritter away our time in unprofitable pursuits. Wisdom, there- 
fore, reproves us in these words ; " O Children, how long will 
"you love childishness, and fools covet those things which 
" are hurtful to themselves ;" (5) and the Apostle thus exhorts 
us : " Do not become children in sense." (6) We, however, Note - 
are the dupes of greater folly and grosser error than children : 
they may, as they advance in years, arrive at the wisdom of 
manhood ; but, unless guided and assisted from above, we can 
never aspire to the divine wisdom which is necessary to sal- 
vation. Unassisted by God, and having spurned those things 
which are really good, we rush on voluntary destruction. 

Should, however, the soul emerge from the darkness in Salutary 
which it is enveloped, and discover in the light of divine grace f, ffer ? s of 
the miseries which encompass her ; should man, awakening ledge. 
from the lethargy which oppressed his faculties, feel the law 
of the members, and the desires of sense, opposed to the spi- 
rit; should he despise the evil propensities of his nature which 
incline him to evil ; must he not seek an effectual remedy for 
the enormous mass of misery entailed on us by the corruption 
of nature ? Will he not sigh for the happiness which attends a 
conformity with the holy will of God, which is and ought to be 
the rule of a Christian life. This it is that we implore, when 
we address these words to God: " Thy will be done." Hav- 
ing fallen into this state of misery by disobeying and despising 
the divine will, God vouchsafes to propose to us, as the sole 

(6) Prov. i. 22. (6) James, iv. 1. 



470 THE CATECHISM OF 

corrective of all our evils, a conformity to his holy will, which 
by sinning we despised : he commands us to regulate all our 
thoughts and actions by this standard ; and for the accomplish- 
ment of this important end, we humbly address this prayer to 
God: "Thy will be done." 
This peti- The same should also be the fervent prayer of those, in 
sL° n tolhe wr,ose sou ^ s ^°d already reigns ; who have been already illu- 
just. mined with the divine light, which enables them to obey the 

will of God. Although thus gifted and thus disposed, they have 
still to struggle against the solicitations of passion, the offspring 
of innate degeneracy and corruption ; and were we of their num- 
ber, we should still be exposed to great danger from our own 
frailty, and should always apprehend, lest, drawn aside and al- 
lured by our concupiscences, " which war in our members," we 
should again stray from the path of salvation. Of this danger 
our Lord admonishes us in these words: " Watch ye and pray 
" that ye enter not into temptation : the spirit indeed is prompt 
II. "but the flesh weak." (7) It is not in the power of man, not 
even of him who is justified by the grace of God, to reduce the 
irregular desires of the flesh to such a state of utter subjection, 
as that they may never afterwards rebel. By justifying grace, 
God, no doubt, heals the wounds of the soul ; but it is not true 
that he also removes the infirmity of the flesh, as we may infer 
from the words of the Apostle : " I know that there dvvelleth 
" not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good." (^8) 
Hi. The moment the first man forfeited original justice, which 

enabled him to bridle the passions, reason was no longer able 
to restrain them within the bounds of duty, or to repress those 
inordinate desires, which are repugnant even to reason. Hence 
the Apostle says, that sin, that is the incentive to sin, dwells in 
the flesh ; giving us to understand that it does not, like a stran- 
ger, make a temporary stay with us, but as an inhabitant of 
"our earthly house of this habitation," (9) takes up its perpe- 
Note. tua l abode in our members. Continually beset, then, as we are, 
by domestic enemies, we see at once the necessity of taking 
refuge under the divine protection, and of praying that the will 
of God may be done in us. 

(7) Matth. xxvi. 41. Vid. Hieron. 1. 2. ad versus Iovin. & Aug. de Hcereii, 6. 

(8) Rom. vii. 18. (9) 2 Cor. v. I. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 471 

In the next place, the pastor will explain to the faithful the Meaning 
force of this petition, and omitting many questions of scholastic words 'thy 
disputation, which the erudition of some Doctors of the Church ' Wlll> ' 
has discussed not less usefully than copiously, we shall content 
ourselves with saying, that, in the Lord's Prayer, the word 
" will" is that which is commonly called " the will of sign," 
(" voluntas signi,") and signifies what God commands or ad- 
monishes us to do or to avoid. Here, therefore, the word 
" will" comprehends all things which are proposed to us as the 
means of attaining heaven, whether they regard faith or mor- 
als ; all things, in a word, which Christ our Lord has command- 
ed or prohibited either in person or through his Church ; and in 
the same sense are to be understood these words of the Apos- 
tle : " Become not unwise, but understanding what is the will 
"of God." (10) 

When, therefore, we say, " Thy will be done," we first be- What we 

' J ' J ... pray for in 

seech our Heavenly Father to enable us to obey his divine this peti- 
commands, and to serve him all the days of our lives in holi- tlon j 
ness and justice ; to do all things in accordance with his will and H. 
pleasure ; to perform all those duties of which we are admon- m. 
ished in the pages of inspiration ; guided and assisted by him, IV. 
to conduct ourselves in every thing as become those " who 
" are horn, not of the will of flesh but of God ;" following the 
example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made obedient un- 
to death, even unto the death of the cross. Finally, we beseech V. 
him to enable us to be prepared to suffer all things rather than 
depart even in the least from his holy will. None desire or Note, 
love more ardently the objects of this petition than they, to 
whom it is given to contemplate the surpassing dignity of him 
who obeys God. They, it is, who comprehend this truth, that 
to serve and obey God is to reign : " Whoever shall do the 
"will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sis- 
" ter and mother ;" (11) in other words : " To him am I most 
" closely united by all the bonds of the tenderest love." 

The saints, with scarcely a single exception, failed not to This peti- 
make the principal gift contemplated by this petition the object Jf°JJ^ 
of their fervent prayers. All, indeed, have in substance made used by the 

(10) Eph. xv. 17. (11) Matth. xii. 50. Bernard serm. S. de S. Andrea. 



473 THE CATECHISM OF 

use of this admirable prayer ; but not unfrequently in different 
words. David, whose inspired strains breathe such sweetness, 
pours out the same prayer in various aspirations : " O ! that my 
"ways may be directed to keep thy justifications:" (12) 
"Lead me into the path of thy commandments." (13) "Direct 
" my steps according to thy word, and let no iniquity have do- 
" minion over me." (14) In the same spirit he says: "Give me 
"understanding, and I will learn thy commandments;" (15) 
"Teach me thy judgments :" 1G) "Give me understanding 
" that I may know thy testimonies." (17) He often expresses 
the same sentiment in other words ; and these passages the 
pastor will carefully notice, and explain to the faithful ; that all 
may know and comprehend the plenitude and profusion of sal- 
utary gifts which are comprehended in the first part of this pe- 
tition. 
Of what In the second place, when we say, " Thy will be done," we 
ouVdetes- ex P ress our detestation of the works of the flesh, of which the 
tation m Apostle says : " The works of the flesh are manifest, which are 

thispeti- , c- 

tion. "these, fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, &c." (18) "It 

" you live according to the flesh you shall die." (19) In this 
prayer we also beg of God not to suffer us to yield to the sug- 
gestions of sensual appetite, of our lusts, or our infirmities, but 
N to govern our will by the will of God. The sensualist, whose 
every thought is fixed on, whose every care is absorbed in, the 
transient enjoyments of this world, is far removed from the ful- 
filment of the will of God : borne along by the tide of passion, 
he indulges in the gratification of his licentious appetites : in 
this gratification he places all his happiness, and pronounces 
VI. him blessed, who succeeds in its attainment. We, on the con- 
trary, beseech God, in the language of the Apostle, that " we 
" make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscence ; (20) 
" but that his will be done." 
Difficulty It ^ s n °t without a struggle with corrupt nature, that we can 
of offering bring ourselves to beg of God not to satisfy our inordinate ap- 

this peti- ° ° . 

tion from petites : this disposition of soul is difficult of attainment ; and by 
e eart. ff er - in g gy^ a p ra y er we seem in some sort to hate ourselves. 

(12) Ps. cxviii. 5. (\3) Ps. cxviii. 35. (14) Ps. cxviii. 133. 

(15) Pb. cxviii. 73. (16) Ps. cxviii. 108. (17) Ps. cxviii. 125. 

(18) Gal. v. 13. (19) Rom. viii. 13. (20) Rom. xiii. 14. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 473 

To those who are slaves to the flesh such conduct appears fol- 
ly ; but be it ours cheerfully to incur the imputation of folly for 
sake of him, who has said : " If any man will come after me, 
" let him hate himself." (21 ) Better to desire what is right and 
just, than to obtain what is opposed to reason and religion, and 
to the laws of God. Unquestionably the condition of the man, 
who attains the gratification of his rash and inordinate desires, 
is less enviable than that of him, who obtains not the object of 
his pious prayers. 

Our prayers, however, have not solely for object, that God VII. 
should deny us what accords with our inordinate desires, vitia- 
ted as they are in their source : but, also, that he would not 
grant us those things for which, under the persuasion and im- 
pulse of the devil, whotranforms himself into an angel of light, 
we sometimes pray, believing them to be good. The desire Scriptural 
of the prince of the Apostles, to dissuade our Lord from his [' „ S g ra " 
determination to meet death, appeared not less reasonable than 
religious ; yet our Lord severely rebuked him, because it ori- 
ginated, not in supernatural motives, but in natural feeling. 
What stronger proof of love towards the Redeemer than that 
evinced by the request of S. James and S. John, who, filled 
with indignation against the Samaritans for refusing to enter- 
tain their Divine Master, besought him to command fire to 
descend from heaven and consume those insensible and inhu- 
man men? Yet they were reproved by our Lord in these 
words, " You know not of what spirit you are : the Son of man 
" came not to destroy but to save." (22) 

We should beseech God that his will be done, not only VIII. 
when our desires are inordinate or appear to be inordinate, 
but, also, when they are not inordinate ; when, for instance, 
the will obeys the instinctive impulse which prompts it to de- 
sire what is necessary for our preservation, and to reject the 
contrary. When about to pray for such things, we should say Scriptura i 
from our hearts, " thy will be done ;" in imitation of the ex- illustration 
ample of him, from whom we receive salvation and the disci- 
pline of salvation; who, when agitated by a natural dread of 
torments, and of a cruel and ignominious death, bowed in that 

(21) Matth. xvi. 24. Luke, ix. 23. (22J Luke, ix. 54. 

60 



474 THE CATECHISM OF 

agonizing hour with meek submission to the will of his Hea- 
venly Father : " Not my will but thine be done." (23) 
Without But, such is the degeneracy of our nature, that, even when 
cannot™ we ^ ave contravened our inordinate desires, and subjected 
avoid sin. t nem to the will of God, we cannot avoid sin without his as- 
sistance, by which we are protected from evil, and directed in 
the pursuit of good. To this petition, therefore, we must have 
recourse, beseeching God to perfect in us those things which 
x - his grace has begun ; to repress the turbulent emotions of de- 
XL sire ; to subject our sensual appetites to the voice of reason ; 
X* 1 - in a word, to render us entirely conformable to his holy will. 

XIII. -yy e p ra y that, the whole world may receive the knowledge of 
his will ; that the mystery of God, hidden from all ages and 

XIV. generations, may be made known to all. We, also, pray for 
the form and model of this obedience, that our conformity to 
the will of God be regulated according to the rule observed 
by the blessed angels and the choirs of other celestial spirits ; 
that, as they spontaneously and with ecstatic pleasure, obey 
God, we too may yield a cheerful obedience to his will in the 
manner most acceptable to him. 

God how God also requires, that in serving him we be actuated by the 

e d. e serv " greatest love, and by the most exalted charity ; that, whilst 
we devote ourselves entirely to him, with the hope of receiv- 
ing heaven as the reward of our fidelity, we look forward to 
that reward, because it has pleased the Divine Majesty that 
we should cherish that hope. Let all our hopes, therefore, 
be based on the love of that God, who proposes as its reward 

Imperfect the happiness of heaven. There are some who love to serve 
another, but who do so, however, solely with a view to some 

Perfect recompense, which is the end and aim of their love ; whilst 
others, influenced by love alone, and by generous devotedness, 
look to nothing else in the services which they render, than 
the goodness and worth of him whom they serve; and in being 
able to render him these services deem themselves happy. 
Note. This is the meaning of the terms appended to the petition, and 
of the apposition between the words, " On earth as it is in Hea- 
"vew." 

(23) Luke, xxii. 42. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 475 

It is, then, our duty to endeavour, as much as possible, to Wna t our 
be obedient to God, as we have said the blessed spirits are, to God ia. 
whose praises in the performance of this exercise of profound 
obedience are celebrated by David in the psalm in which oc- 
cur the words, " Bless the Lord, and all ye his host ; ye minis- 
"tersof his that do his will." Should, anyone, however, 
adopting the interpretation of S. Cyprian, understand the 
words, "in heaven," to mean in the good and the pious, and 
the words " on earth," the wicked and the impious, we do 
not disapprove of the interpretation; by the word " heaven," 
understanding- "the spirit," and by the word " earth" " the 
"flesh," that all creatures may in all things obey the will of 
God. (24) 

This petition also includes thanksgiving. We revere the This P eti " 

1 tion con- 

most holy will of God, and in transports of joy celebrate all tains 

his works, with the highest praise and gratulation, knowing giving!" 
that he has done all things well. God is, confessedly, omnipo- 
tent ; and the consequence necessarily forces itself on the mind, 
that all things were created at his command : he is the supreme 
good ; we must, therefore, confess that all his works are good, 
for to all he imparted his own goodness. If, however, the hu- Note - 
man intellect cannot fathom all the mysterious depths of the di- 
vine economy, banishing every doubt from the mind, we unhe- 
sitatingly declare, in the words of the Apostle, that "his ways 
" are unsearchable." (25) 

We, also, find a powerful incentive to revere the holy will A power- 
of God in the reflection, that by him we have been deemed wor- 1 " revere 6 
thy to be illumined by his heavenly light; " who hath deliver- £ e wil1 of 
" ed us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into 
" the kingdom of the Son of his love." (26) 

But, to close our exposition of this petition, we must revert The dispo- 
to a subject at which we glanced at its commencement : it is, sltlo " of 
that the faithful, in uttering this petition, should be humble and which this 
lowly in spirit ; keeping in view the violence of inordinate and should be 
innate desire, which revolts against the will of God ; recollect- offered - 
ing that in this duty of obedience, man is excelled by all other 
creatures, of whom it is written, " All things serve thee ;" (27) 

(24) Ps. cii. 21. (25) Rom. xi. 33. (26) Col. i. 13. (27) Ps. cxviii. 91. 



476 THE CATECHISM OF 

and reflecting, that he who, unsupported by the divine assist- 
ance, is unable to undertake, not to say, perform, any thing ac- 
ceptable to God, must be, of all other beings, the weakest, 
to the^wiU But, as there is nothing greater, nothing more exalted, as we 
of God, have already said, than to serve God, and live in obedience to 
highest his law, what more desirable to a Christian, than to walk in 
dignity. t ^ e wa y S f the Lord; to think nothing, to undertake nothing, 
at variance with his will ? In order that the faithful may adopt 
this rule of life practically, and adhere to it with greater fideli- 
ty, the pastor will recur to the pages of inspiration for exam- 
ples of individuals, who, by not referring their views to the 
will of God, have failed in all their undertakings. 
Important Finally, the faithful are to be admonished to acquiesce impli- 
admoni- c jtly in the simple and absolute will of God. Let him, who 
thinks that he occupies a place in society inferior to his deserts, 
bear his lot with patient resignation: let him not abandon the 
sphere in which Providence has placed him ; but abide in the 
vocation to which he has been called. Let him subject his own 
judgement to the will of God, who consults better for our in- 
terests than we can do, by adopting the suggestions of our own 
desires. If oppressed by poverty, harrassed by distress, or 
goaded by persecution ; if visited by troubles or afflictions of 
any sort; let us recollect, that none of these things happen with- 
out the permission of God, who is the Supreme Arbiter of all 
things. We should, therefore, not suffer our minds to be too 
much disturbed by them, but bear up against them with forti- 
tude ; having always on our lips the words of the Apostles, 
" The will of the Lord be done :" (28) and, also, those of holy 
Job, " As it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done : blessed be 
" the name of the Lord." (29) 

(28) Acts, xxi. 14. (29) Job, i. 21. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 477 



GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD." 



The fourth and following petitions, in which we particular- ? rder t of 
ly and expressly pray for the necessary succours of soul and tions. 
body, have reference to those which preceded. According to 
the order of the Lord's Prayer, we ask for what regards the 
body and its preservation, after that which regards God. As 
man's creation and being terminate in God as his ultimate end, 
so, in like manner, the goods of this life have reference to those 
of the next ; and it is with a view to the former, that we should 
desire and pray for the latter. This we should do, either be- 
cause the divine order so requires, or because we have occa- 
sion for these aids to obtain those divine blessings, and, as- 
sisted by them, to attain our proposed ends, the kingdom and 
glory of our Heavenly Father, and the reverential observance 
of those commands which we know to emanate from his holy 
will. In this petition, therefore, we should propose to our- Note# 
selves nothing but God and his glory. 

In the discharge of his duty towards his people, the In asking 

r ,, ■■ f , for tempo- 

pastor, therefore, will endeavour to make them under- ral bless- 

stand, that, in praying for temporal blessings, our minds defies "are 

and our desires are to be directed in conformity with the law t0 be con - 

of God, from which we are not to swerve in the least. By pray- to the law 

ing for the transient things of this world, we but too often ofGod - 

transgress ; for, as the Apostle says, " We know not what we 

" should pray for as we ought." (1) These things, therefore, Note - 

" we should pray for as we ought," lest, praying for any thing 

we ought not, we receive from God for answer, " You know 

" not what you desire." (2) 

To ascertain what petition is good, and what the contrary, Means of 

the purpose and intention of the petitioner is an infallible crite- ascertain - 

. m g p uril y 

rion. To pray for temporal blessings, under an impression of inten- 

that they constitute the sovereign good ; to rest in them, as the fer m g"this 

ultimate end of our desires, and to seek for nothing else ; this, petition. 

(1) Rom. viii. 26. (2) Matth. xx. 22. 



478 THE CATECHISM OF 

unquestionably, is not to pray as we ought; for, as S. Augus- 
tine observes, " we ask not these temporal things as our good, 
" but as necessaries." (3) The Apostle, also, in his Epistle to 
the Corinthians, teaches, that whatever regards the necessary 
purposes of life is to be referred to the glory of God : " Whe- 
" ther you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do all to the 
" glory of God " (4) 
Import- In order that the faithful may see the importance of this pe- 

petition thlS tition, the pastor will advert to the necessity of external things, 
in order to support life ; and this they will the more easily com- 
prehend, by comparing the wants of our protoparent with those 
Difference of his posterity. True it is, that, although in a state of spot- 
theX e teofl ess innocence, from which he himself, and, through his trans- 
innocence gression, all his posterity fell, he had occasion to use food for 

& of fallen . ' 

nature. the refection of the body ; yet, between his wants, and those to 
which we are subject, there exists a wide diversity. He stood 
not in need of clothes to cover him, of a house to shelter him, 
of weapons to defend him, of medicine to restore health, nor of 
many other things which are necessary to us for the protection 
and preservation of our weak and frail bodies : to enjoy im- 
mortality, it had been sufficient for him to eat of the fruit which 
the tree of life spontaneously yielded ; whilst he and all his 
posterity should have been exempt from the labour of cultivating 
Note, the earth in the sweat of their brow. Placed in that habitation 
of pleasure in order to be occupied, he was not, in the midst 
of these delights, to lead a life of listless indolence ; but to 
him no employment could be troublesome, no duty unplea- 
sant. Occupied in the cultivation of those beautiful gardens, 
his care would have been always blessed with a profusion of 
fruits the most delicious, his labours never disappointed, his 
hopes never blasted. 

His posterity, on the contrary, are not only deprived of the 
fruit of the tree of life, but also condemned to this dreadful 
sentence, " Cursed is the earth in thy Work; with labour and 
" toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life: thorns and 
" thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the 

(3) Lid. 2. de serm. Dom. in monte. c. 16. item. ep. 121. c. 6. 

(4) I Cor. x. 31. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 479 

" herbs of the earth. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
" bread, 'till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast 
"taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." 
(5) Our condition, therefore, is entirely different from what 
his and that of his posterity would have been, had he contin- 
ued faithful to God. All things have been thrown into disor- 
der, and have undergone a melancholy deterioration ; and of Note, 
the evils consequent to primeval transgression, it is not the 
least, that the heaviest cost, and labour, and toil, are frequent- 
ly expended in vain ; either because the crops are unproduc- 
tive, or because the fruits of the earth are destroyed by nox- 
ious weeds, by heavy rains, by storms, hail, blight, or blast. 
Thus is the entire labour of the year quickly reduced to noth- 
ing, by the inclemency of the weather, or the sterility of the 
soil; a calamity with which we are visited in punishment of 
our crimes, which provoke the wrath of God, and prevent 
him from blessing our labours ; whilst, at the same time, the 
dreadful sentence first pronounced against guilty man is still 
recorded against us. (6) 

In treating this subject, therefore, the pastor will exert him- Duty of 
self to impress on the minds of the faithful, that if these mis- 
fortunes and miseries are incidental to man, the fault is entire- 
ly his own ; that he must labour and toil to procure the neces- 
saries of life, but that unless God bless his labours, all his 
hopes must prove illusory, all his exertions fruitless : " Neither 
" he that pi ante th is any thing, nor he that watereth ; but God 
" that giveth the increase." (7) " Unless the Lord build the 
" house, they labour in vain that build it." ^8) 

The pastor therefore, will teach, that those things which Necessity 
are necessary to human existence, or, at least, to its comforts, jj^jj 
are almost innumerable ; and thisJknowledge of our wants and 
weaknesses will stimulate the faithful to have recourse to their 
heavenly Father, humbly to solicit every blessing of soul and 
body, of heaven and of earth. They will imitate the example Scriptural 
of the Prodigal, who, when he began to experience want in a example ' 
strange land, unable to obtain even the husks of swine, on 
which to satisfy the cravings of hunger, at length, returning to 

(5) Gen. iii. 17. (6) Gen. iii. (7) 1 Cor. iii. 7. (SJ Ps. cxxvi. 1. 



480 THE CATECHISM OF 

himself, saw that, for the evils that oppressed him, he could 
Motives to expect no remedy from any one hut from his father. (9) They 
confidence w j || a i so have recourse to prayer with greater confidence, if 
they reflect on the goodness of God, whose ears are always 
open to the cries of his children. Whilst he exhorts us to 
ask for bread, he promises to bestow it abundantly on us, if 
we ask it as we ought : by exhorting, he enjoins it as a duty : 
by enjoining it as a duty, he pledges himself to give it; and by 
pleding himself to give it, he inspires us with the confident ex- 
pectation of obtaining it. 
Objects of When the minds of the faithful are thus animated and en- 
couraged, the pastor will next evolve the objects of this peti- 
*" tion ; and, first, what is the nature of the bread for which it prays. 
In the sacred Scriptures the word " bread" has a variety of 
meanings, but particularly the two following: first, whatever 
is necessary for the sustenance of the body, and for our oth- 
er corporeal wants ; secondly, whatever the divine bounty has 
bestowed on us for the life and salvation of the soul. In this 
petition, then, according to the interpretation and authority of 
the holy Fathers, we ask those succours of which we stand in 
need in this life ; and those, therefore, who say, that such prayers 
are unlawful, deserve no attention. Besides the unanimous con- 
currence of the Fathers, many examples in the Old and New 
Testaments refute the error. Jacob, pledging a vow to hea- 
ven, prayed thus: "If God shall be with me, and shall keep 
" me in the way by which I walk, and shall give me bread to 
" eat, and raiment to put on, and I shall return prosperously to 
" my father's house, the Lord shall be my God ; and this stone, 
" which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of 
" God ; and of all things thou shalt give to me I will offer 
" tithes to thee." (10) Solomon prayed for a competency in 
these words : " Give me neither beggary nor riches ; give me 
" only the necessaries of life." (11) Nay, the Saviour himself 
commands us to pray for those things which, it will not be de- 
nied, are temporal blessings : " Pray that your flight be not in 
" the winter, or on the Sabbath." (12) S. James, also, says, 

(9) Luke, xv. (10) Gen. xxviii. 20. (1 1) Prov. xxx. S. 

(12) Matth. xxiv. 20. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 481 

" Is any one of you sad ? Let him pray. Is he cheerful in 
" mind ? Let him sing ;" (13) and the Apostle thus addresses 
himself to the Romans : " I beseech you, therefore, through 
" our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the charity of the Holy Ghost, 
" that you help me in your prayers for me to God, that I may 
"be delivered from the unbelievers that are in Judea." (14) 
Since, then, God permits us to ask these temporal favours, and 
as this form of prayer was delivered by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that it constitutes one of the seven petitions can no longer be 
matter of doubt. 

We, also, ask our daily bread, that is to say, necessary sus- n - 
tenance, and, under the name of bread, whatever is necessary 
for food and raiment. In this sense Elizeus makes use of the 
word, when admonishing the king to give bread to the Assy- 
rian soldiers, who received a considerable quantity of flesh 
meat; (15) and of Christ our Lord it is written, that " he en- 
" tered into the house of a certain prince of the Pharisees on 
" the Sabbath-day, to eat bread ;" ( 1 6 ) that is to say, to eat and Note, 
drink. To comprehend fully the meaning of the petition, it is 
also to be observed, that by the word bread we are not to un- 
derstand a profusion of exquisite meats, and of rich clothing, 
but what is in its quality simple, and in its object necessary, 
according to these words of the Apostle : " Having food and 
" raiment, let us therewith be content j" (17) and of Solomon, 
as already quoted : " Give me only the necessaries of life." (18) 
Of this frugality in diet and clothing, we are admonished in the 
next word of the prayer : when we say " our," we pray for 
the means of satisfying the necessary wants of nature, not of 
upholding extravagance, or pampering voluptuousness. We do Note. 
not, however, by using the word " our," imply that of our- 
selves, and independently of God, we can acquire these means : 
" All expect of thee," says David, " that thou give them food in 
" season : what thou givest to them they shall gather up : when 
" thou openest thy hand, they shall all be filled with good." (1 9) 
And again, " The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord ; and thou 
" givest them meat in due season." (20) Why, then, do we 

(13) James, v. 13. (14) Rom. xv. 30. (15) 4 Kings, vi. 22. 

(16) Luke, xiv. 1. (17) 1 Tim. vi. 8. (18) Prov. xxx. 8. 

(19) Ps. ciii. 27. (20) Ps. cxliv. 15. 

61 



482 THE CATECHISM OF 

call that for which we pray, " our bread ?" The reason is, be- 
cause it is necessary for our sustenance, and is given to us by 
God, the universal Father, whose providence feeds all living 
creatures ; and, also, because we are to obtain it lawfully, not 
by fraud, or injustice, or theft. Whatever we obtain by fraud- 
ulent means is not our property ; it is the property of another ; 
and it very generally happens, that the injustice is embittered 
by the acquisition, the enjoyment, or, at least, by the loss of 
such ill-gotten property ; whilst, on the contrary, the fruits of 
honest industry are enjoyed in peace and happiness : " Thou 
" shalt eat the labours of thy hands," says the prophet; 
" blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee." (21) To 
those, then, who strive by honest industry, to procure the 
means of subsistence, God promises the fruit of his blessing in 
these words : " The Lord will send forth a blessing on thy 
" storehouses, and on all the works of thy hands, and will 
III. " bless thee." (22) The object of the petition, however, is not 
solely to beg of God to grant us to make use of the fruits of our 
labour and industry, and of his bounty : 'these we truly call 
ours ; but we also pray that he may grant us enlightened judg- 
ment, to use with prudence and propriety what we have ac- 
quired by honesty and industry. 
This word " Daily"] This word also conveys an admonition to frugali- 
es to fru- ty, of which we spoke in the preceding paragraph. We do 
gahty. no j. p ra y f or delicacy or variety of meats : we pray for that 
alone which satisfies the necessary demands of nature ; and 
the Christian should blush, who, loathing with fastidious palate 
ordinary meat and drink, looks for the rarest viands and the 
richest wines. 
Condemns The word " daily" conveys a no less severe censure on 
cupi ' y ' those, against whom Isaiah holds out this awful menace : " Wo 
" to you that join house to house, and lay field to field, even 
" to the end of the place : shall you alone dwell in the midst of 
" the earth ?" (23) The cupidity of such men is insatiable : 
"A covetous man," says Solomon, "shall not be satisfied with 
" money." (24) " They that will become rich," says S. Paul, 
" fall into temptation, and the snare of the devil." (25) 

(21) Ps. cxxvii. 2. (22) Deut. xxviii. 8. (23) Isaias, v. 8. 

(24) Eccl. v. 9. (25) 1 Tim. vi. 9. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 483 

We, also, call it " our daily bread," because we use it to re- Note, 
gain the waste of vital energy, which suffers a daily diminu- 
tion from the natural heat of the human system. 

Finally, the word " daily" implies the necessity of unceas- Note. 

ing prayer, in order that we may not swerve from the practice 

of loving and serving God, and that we may be thoroughly 

convinced of this truth, that upon him we depend for life and 

salvation. 

" Give us"] What ample matter for instruction is afforded Tne fe two 
J 1 _ words con- 

by these two words: what motives they supply to worship tain impor- 

and reverence the infinite power of God, in whose hands are ter ofin-" 

all things ; what reasons to detest the execrable pride of Sa- struction. 

tan, who said, " To me all things are delivered, and to whom 

" I will, I give them ;" (26) are reflections too obvious not to 

strike even the most superficial ; for by the sovereign pleasure 

of God are all things dispensed, and preserved, and increased. 

But it may be asked, what necessity have the rich to pray In wIiat 

J ' J r j sense ap- 

for their daily bread, possessing, as they do, abundance of eve- plicable to 
ry thing. They are under the necessity of praying thus, not 
that those things in which they abound may be given them, 
but that they lose not what they possess. Let the rich, there- 
fore, learn hence the lesson taught by the Apostle, " not to be 
" high-minded, nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in 
" the living God; who giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy." 
(27) As a reason for the necessity of this petition, S. Chry- Note, 
sostom says, that in it we not only pray for the means of subsist- 
ence, but, also, that " our daily bread" may be supplied by the 
hand of God, which imparts to it a salubrious and salutary in- 
fluence, rendering it nutritive, and preserving the body in sub- 
jection to the soul. (28) 

But why say " give us," in the plural number, not '' give Why 'give 
" me," in the singular? Because it is a duty of Christian chari- ( ™^' e n ^ , 
ty, that each individual be not only solicitous for himself, but, I- 
also, active in the cause of his neighbour ; and that, whilst he 
attends to his own interests, he forget not the interests of 
others. Add to this, that the gifts which God bestows, he II- 
bestows, not with a view that he to whom they are given 

(26) Luke, iv. 6. (27) 1 Tim. vi. 17. (28) Horn. 14. oper. imperf. in Matt. 



484 THE CATECHISM OF 

should possess them exclusively, or live luxuriously in their 
enjoyment; but that he may divide his superfluities with oth- 
ers. As SS. Ambrose and Basil say, " It is the bread of the 
" hungry that you withhold : it is the clothes of the naked that 
" you lock up : it is the redemption, the freedom, the mo- 
" ney of the wretched, that you hide under the earth." (29) 
Force of. " This day"] These words remind us of the common infir- 
mity of mortals. Although distrustful of being able, by his 
own exertions, to procure permanent subsistence, who does 
not feel confident of being able to procure necessary food for 
one day at least ! Yet even this confidence God will not permit 
us to cherish : he commands us to ask him even for our daily 
bread. As, then, we all stand in need of daily bread, it follows 
as a necessary consequence that we should make daily use of 
the Lord^ prayer. 1 

We here We have thus far treated of that bread which we use to nour- 
rituai food", kh and support the body, and which God, " who maketh his 
and what, a sun ^ r [ se on t ] ie g 00( j an( ] t h e b a( j } anc j ra ineth upon the just 
" and the unjust," (30) bestows, in his admirable beneficence, 
indiscriminately on the good and the bad. It now remains to 
treat of that spiritual bread, which is, also, the object of this 
petition of the Lord's Prayer, and which comprehends every 
thing necessary for the safety and salvation of the soul. The 
soul, not less than the body, is nourished by a variety of food : 
I- the word of God, for instance, is the food of the soul; for 
Wisdom says, " Come, eat of my bread, and drink the wine 
" which I have mingled for you." (31) When God deprives 
men of this his word, a privation frequently involved by our 
crimes, he is said to visit the human race with famine : " I will 
" send foyth," says he, " a famine into the land, not a famine of 
" bread, or a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the 
An illus- " Lord." (32) And as an incapability of taking food, or, hav- 
ra 1Qa * ing taken it, of retaining it, is a sure sign of approaching disso- 
lution ; so, it is a strong proof of the utter hopelessness of sal- 
vation, to reject the word of God, or hearing it, to be unable to 
endure it, and to utter against God the blasphemous cry, " De- 
" part from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." 

(29) SS. Basil, hom. 6. variorum, Aug. et Ambr. serm. SI. 

(30) Matth. v. 45. (31) Prov. ix. 5. (32) Amos, viii. 11. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 485 

(33) Such is the infatuation, such the blindness of those who, 
disregarding the authority of the Catholic Church, of her legit- 
imate pastors and prelates, and revolting against the spiritual 
power with which they are invested, have joined the standard 
of heretics, who corrupt the word of God. 

Christ our Lord is, also, the bread of the soul: " I am," says IL 
he, " the living bread that came down from heaven." (34) It 
is incredible with what exquisite pleasure and joy this bread 
fills devout souls, even when agitated by the rude shocks and 
afflictions of this life ; and of this we have a strong illustration 
in the holy choir of the apostles, of whom it is recorded, that 
" they went out from the presence of the council rejoicing." 
(35) The lives of the saints are replete with similar examples ; 
and it is of these interior delights, which replenish the souls of 
the just, that God speaks when he says, " To him that over- 
" cometh I will give the hidden manna." (36) 

But Christ our Lord, really and substantially present in the HI. 
sacrament of the Eucharist, is pre-eminently this bread. Of 
this ineffable pledge of his love, which he bequeathed to us 
when about to return to his Father, he said, " He that eateth my 
" flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth . in me, and I in him." 
(37) "Take ye and eat: this is my body." (38) But, for Note, 
those matters, which will serve to instruct the faithful on this 
subject, the pastor will revert to what we have already said, 
specially, on this sacrament. The Holy Eucharist is called 
" our bread," because it is the spiritual food of the faith- 
ful only, that is, of those who, uniting charity to faith, 
cleanse their souls from sin in the sacrament of penance, 
and, mindful that they are the children of God, receive 
and adore this divine mystery with all the holiness and venera- 
tion to which they can excite themselves. (39) It is called 
"daily" for obvious reasons : it is offered daily to God in the 
holy sacrifice of the altar, and is given to those who desire to 
receive it with piety and holiness ; and we should, also, receive 
it daily, or, at least, live in such a manner as to be worthy, as 

(33) Job, xxi. 14. (34) John, vi. 41. (35; Acts, v. 41. (36) Apoc. ii. 17. 
(37) John, vi. 51 (38) Matth. xxvi. 26. 1 Cor. xi. 24. 
(39) Vid. Tertul. ib. de orat. Cypr. item do orat. Aug. et alios, locis citatis 
pag. 476. 



486 THE CATECHISM OF 

far as human infirmity will allow, to receive it daily: Let him 
who, on the contrary, is of opinion, that the soul should not 
partake of this saving banquet but at distant intervals, hear the 
words of S. Ambrose : " If it is daily bread, why partake of it 
" but once a year ?" (40) 
The issue i n the exposition of this petition the faithful are to be em- 
prayer to phatically exhorted, when they have honestly used their best 
ed to God. consideration and industry to procure the means of subsistence, 
to confide the issue to God, and to submit their own wishes to 
the will of him, " who shall not suffer the just to waver for 
"ever." (41) God will either give what they ask, or he will 
not : if he does, their wishes are realized ; if not, it is an une- 
quivocal proof that what they desire would tend to promote 
neither their interests nor their salvation ; whereas, it is denied 
to the pious, of whose salvation God is more careful than even 
.they themselves. 
Duty of Finally, in the exposition of this petition, the pastor will ex- 

the rich. , , . , ,, , , J , , 

hort the rich to recollect, that they are to look upon their 
wealth as the gift of God, bestowed on them in order that they 
may divide it with the necessitous ; and with this truth the words 
of the Apostle, in his Epistle to Timothy, will be found to ac- 
cord, and will supply the pastor with abundant matter to eluci- 
date this subject in a manner conducive to the eternal interests 
of his people. (42) 

(40) Lib. 5. Sa. c. 4. vide etiam de consec. dist. 2. 

(41) Ps. liv. 23. (42) 1 Tim. vi. 17. 



" AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE ALSO FORGIVE OUR 
DEBTORS." 



The pas- " Forgive us our debts"] Many things display the in- 
Christ dis- fimte power of God, his wisdom, and goodness. Cast our 
plays the e y e s, turn our thoughts, where we may, we are struck with un- 
towards equivocal manifestations of his omnipotence and goodness ; but 
if there be any one thing which, more than another, eloquent- 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 487 

Iy proclaims his boundless love for man, that most assuredly is 
the ineffable mystery of the passion of Jesus Christ, that peren- 
nial fountain which washes away the defilements of sin, and in 
which, under the guidance and goodness of God, we desire to 
be merged and purified, when we address him in these words : 
" Forgive us our debts." 

This petition comprises a summary, as it were, of those ben- ^J ec * ° f 
efits which have been accumulated on the human race through tion. 
the merits of Jesus Christ, as was foretold by Isaias : " The 
" iniquity of the house of David shall be forgiven, and this is 
" all the fruit, that the sin thereof should be taken away."(l) 
This is also the language of David, proclaiming those blessed 
who have the happiness to partake of that fruit : " Blessed are 
" they whose iniquities are forgiven." (2) The pastor, there- 
fore, will examine and explain, with minute attention, a petition 
so important to salvation. 

In it we enter on a new form of prayer : in the preceding pe- I* s exposi- 
tions, we asked from God not only spiritual and eternal, dispositions 
but also temporal and transient blessings ; but in this we de- ^mands 
precate the evils of the body and of the soul, of this life, and 
of the life to come. As, however, to obtain the object of our 
prayers, we must pray as we ought, it appears expedient 
to explain the dispositions, with which this prayer should be 
offered to God. The pastor, then, will admonish the faithful, & 
that he who comes to offer this petition must, first, acknow- 
ledge, and, in the next place, feel compunction for, his sins. 
He must also firmly believe that God is willing to pardon the n. 
sinner when thus disposed, lest, possibly, the bitter remem- 
brance and acknowledgment of his sins may lead the sinner to 
despair of mercy, as was the case with Cain, (3) and Judas y 
(4) who looked on God as an avenger of crime, and not, also, 
as a God of clemency and of mercy. In presenting this peti- 
tion to the throne of God, we should, therefore, be so dispos- 
ed as that, whilst we acknowledge our sins in the bitterness of 
our souls, we also fly to him as to a Father, not a Judge, im- 
ploring him to deal with us not in his justice but in his mercy. 

We shall be easily induced to acknowledge our sins, if we Mo ^e to 

(1) Isaias, xxvii. 9. (2) Ps. iii. 1. (3) Gen. iv. 13. (4) Matth. xxvii. 4, 5. 



488 THE CATECHISM OF 

the ac- but listen to God himself declaring by the mouth of David, 
ment of " They are all gone aside : they are become unprofitable toge- 

our sins. „ ther . there j g nQne ^ d()th ^ QQ ^ nQ nQt Qne „ ^ g()lo _ 

mon speaks to the same effect : " There is no just man upon 
" earth, that doth good and sinneth not ;" (6) and to this 
subject are also applicable these words of Proverbs : " Who 
" can say, my heart is clean, and I am pure from sin ?" (7) S. 
John also makes use of the same sentiment as an argument 
against pride : " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive 
" ourselves, and the truth is not in us;" (8) and the Prophet Je- 
remiah," Thou hast said, I am without sin, and am innocent; 
" and therefore, let thy anger be turned away from me. Be- 
" hold I will contend with thee in judgment, because thou hast 
" said, I have not sinned." (9) These sentiments Christ our 
Lord, who spoke by their lips, confirms in this petition, in which 
he commands us to confess our sins ; and the Council of Mile- 
vis forbids to interpret it otherwise : " Whoever says, that 
" these words of the Lord's Prayer, 'forgive us our debts,' are 
" to be said by holy men in humility, and not in truth, let him 
" be anathema." (10) How wicked to pray, and at the same 
time to lie, not to men but to God ; and yet this is the crime of 
him who, with his lips, says that he asks to be forgiven, but, 
in his heart, that he has no debts to be forgiven. (11) 
We must 1° the acknowledgment of our sins, it is not enough that we 
recount ca ^ t j iem to m \ n {[ lightly : we must recount them with bitter 

our sins . 

with bitter regret: the heart must be pierced with compunction; the soul 
regre " must melt with sorrow. On this subject of compunction, there- 
fore, the pastor will bestow his best attention, in order that his 
hearers may not only recall to their recollection their sins and 
iniquities, but may, also, recall them with tears of penitential 
sorrow ; that, penetrated with heartfelt contrition, they may be- 
take themselves to God their Father, humbly imploring him to 
pluck from the soul the poisoned stings of sin. 
Zeal of the The zeal of the pastor should not, however, content itself 
with sketching the turpitude of sin : it should also depict the 
unworthiness and baseness of man, who, rottenness and cor- 

(5) Ps. xiii. 3. (6) Eccl. vii. 21. (7) Prov. xx. 9. (8) John, i. S. 
(9) Jerem. ii. 25. (10) Cone. Milev. c. 7, 8, 9. 

(11^ Vid. Trid. scss. 6. de justificatione c. 11. item Aug. in Ench. c. 17. 



this 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 489 

ruption that he is, dares to outrage the majesty of God, which pect: tur- 

-, - it i -. -, , • - j x P itude of 

no created intelligence can comprehend, and his transcendant s i n . 

dignity, which no created tongue can describe. This picture of 
the baseness of man borrows a deeper shade from the considera- 
tion, that God has created us ; that he has redeemed us ; and that 
his goodness has heaped upon us countless blessings, the value 
of which is not to be appreciated. And why thus grossly out- 
rage God? That, estranged from our Father, the supreme good, 
and lured by the base rewards of sin, we may devote ourselves 
to the devil, to become his wretched slaves. Language is inad- 
equate to describe the cruel tyranny which he exercises over 
those, who, having shaken off the sweet yoke of Christ, and 
having broken the bond of love which binds the soul to God 
our Father, have gone over to their relentless enemy, the de- 
vil. Therefore is he called in Scripture, " The prince and 
"ruler of this world," (12) "the prince of darkness," (13) 
"and king over all the children of pride;" (14) and to those 
who are thus the victims of his tyranny, apply with great truth 
these words of Isaias : " O Lord our God, other lords besides 
" thee have had dominion over us." (15) 

Are we so insensible as to be unmoved by the base viola- Calamities 
tion of the sacred covenant which bound us to God ? If so, and mise " 

.•,'.,■ a . in t , ,.. , . ries which 

let our insensibility yield, at least, to the calamities and mise- sin entails. 
ries into which sin plunges its votaries. It violates the sancti- 
ty of the soul, which is wedded to Jesus Christ : it profanes 
the temple of the living God ; and it thus involves the sinner 
in the awful denunciation conveyed by the Apostle in these 
words : " If any violate the temple of God, him shall God de- 
"stroy." (16) Innumerable are the evils of which sin is 
the poisoned source: their magnitude is thus expressed by 
David : " There is no health in my flesh, because of thy wrath : 
" there is no peace for my bones, because of my sins."(17) He 
marks the virulence of the disease, by declaring that it left no 
part of his frame uninfected : the poison of sin entered even 
into his very bones ; in other words, it infected his understand- 
ing, and his will, the two great faculties of the soul. Describ- 

(12) John, xiv. 30. (13) Eph. vi. 12. (14) Joh, xli. 2E. 

(15) Isa. xxvi. 13. (16) 1 Cor. hi. 11. (17) Ps.zxxvii. 4. 

62 



490 THE CATECHISM OF 

ing this wide-spreading and destructive contagion, the sacred 
Scriptures designate sinners by " the lame," " the deaf," " the 
" dumb," the " paralysed." 
The wick- But, besides the anguish which he felt on account of the 

ed are at . 

war with wickedness of his sins, David was afflicted yet more by the 
consciousness of having provoked the wrath of God. The 
wicked are at war with God, whom their crimes so grievous- 
ly offend. " Wrath and indignation," says the Apostle, " tri- 
" bulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh 
"evil." (18) The sinful act, it is true, is transient, but the 
guilt of sin remains; and that guilt the wrath of God pursues 
as the shadow follows the body. Pierced by these stings of 
the divine wrath, David was excited to sue for the pardon of 
his sins ; and that the faithful, imitating the royal penitent, may 
learn to grieve, that is, to become truly contrite, and to cher- 
ish the hope of pardon, the pastor will place before their eyes 
and press upon their attention, the example of his penitential 
sorrow, and the lessons of instruction which it conveys. ( 1 9) 
Utility of The importance of such instruction in teaching us to grieve 
struction. f° r our sms > God himself declares by the mouth of his Pro- 
phet : exhorting Israel to repentance, he admonishes her to 
awake to a sense of the evils which flow from sin : " Know 
" thou, and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee, to 
" have left the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not with thee, 
" saith the Lord, the God of Hosts." (20) They who are 
strangers to these sentiments, who know not these feelings of 
heart-felt sorrow, are said by the Prophets Isaias, Ezekiel 
and Zachary, to have "hard hearts," (21) "stony hearts," 
(22) " hearts of adamant ;" (23) like stone they are insensible 
to all feeling of sorrow, and devoid of every principle of life, 
that is, of the salutary consciousness of their own infatuation 
and abandonment. 
The sinner But lest, terrified by the enormity of his crimes, the sinner 
couraged despair of obtaining pardon, the pastor will animate him to hope 
pardon f ° r ^ ^ e f°U 0W i n g considerations : he will remind him that Christ 
I- our Lord gave power to his Church to remit sins, as is declar- 

(18) Rom. ii. 8,9. (19) Ps. 1. (20) Jerem. ii. 19. 

(21) Isaias, xlvi. 12. (22) Ezek. xxxvi. 26. (23) Zach. vii. 12. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 491 

ed in one of the acticles of the Creed ; and that this petition H. 
makes known to us the extent of the divine goodness and boun- 
ty towards us, for if God were not disposed to pardon the 
penitent sinner, he would not have commanded him to ask for 
pardon: "Forgive us our debts." We should, therefore, be 
firmly convinced, that commanding us, as he does, to solicit, he 
will, also, extend to us his paternal compassion : the petition 
fully implies that God is so disposed towards us, that he is wil- 
ling to pardon the truly penitent. True, he is that God against 
whom we sin by disobedience ; the designs of whose wisdom we 
frustrate, as far as depends on us ; whom we offend, whom we 
outrage in word and deed ; but he is also a most beneficent Fa- III# 
ther, who has it in his power to pardon all our transgressions ; 
and who not only declares his willingness to exercise this pow- 
er, but also urges us to sue to him for pardon, and teaches us 
how to ask it. It cannot, therefore, be matter of doubt that, Note, 
with his gracious assistance, we have it in our power to conci- 
liate the divine favor. This attestation of the willingness of 
God to pardon sin, increases faith, nurtures hope, and inflames 
charity ; and it will, therefore, be found useful to enlarge upon 
this subject by citing Scriptural authorities to this effect, and 
by referring to examples of individuals whose repentance God 
rewarded with the pardon of the most grievous crimes. As, 
however, in our exposition of the prefatory words of the pray- 
er, and of that part of the creed which speaks of the forgive- 
ness of sins, we have been as diffuse on the subject as its mat- 
ter required, the pastor will revert to those places for whatever 
he may deem necessary for further illustration ; the rest he will 
draw from the fountains of inspired wisdom. He will also pur- 
sue the same plan of instruction which was followed in the 
other petitions, making known to the faithful the meaning of the 
word " debts :" without this knowledge they may ask for some- 
thing different from the real objects which this petition contem- 
plates. 

In the first place, then, we are to know that in it we pray What we 
not for exemption from the debt due to God on so many ac- do n . ot P ra y 
counts, the payment of which is essential to salvation; that of petition, 
loving him with our whole heart, our whole soul, and with all L 



492 THE CATECHISM OF 

H. our strength. Neither do we ask to be exempted from the du- 
ties of obedience, worship, veneration, or any similar obligation 
What we i nc i uc i e d \ n t\ xe word " debt." We pray to be delivered from 
our sins : this is the interpretation of S. Luke, who, instead of 
" debt," makes use of the word " sins ;" (24) for by their com- 
mission we become guilty before God, and incur a debt of pun- 
ishment, which we must liquidate by satisfaction or by suffer- 
ing. Such was the debt of which Christ spoke by the mouth 
of his prophet : " Then did I pay that which I took not away ;" 
(25) from which we may infer that we are not only debtors, 
but also unequal to the payment of the debts which we contract. 
Unable to Of himself the sinner is totally incapable of making satisfac- 
bursJveaj ^ oa '• we must, therefore, fly to the divine mercy ; and as jus- 
we must ti ce r which God is most tenacious, is an equal and corres- 

have re- 1 L 

course to ponding attribute to mercy, we must have recourse to prayer, 
of Christ!* an( * t0 ^ ie advocacy of the passion of Christ, without which, 
no one ever obtained the pardon of sin ; from which, as from 
its source, flow all the force and efficacy of satisfaction. Such 
is the value of the price paid by Christ our Lord on the cross, 
and communicated to us through the sacraments received ei- 
ther actually or in desire, that it obtains and accomplishes for 
us the pardon of our sins, which is the object of our prayer in 
Note, this petition. We ask pardon not only for our venial offences, 
for which pardon may be easily obtained, but also for grievous 
mortal sins, of which the petition cannot procure forgiveness, 
unless it derive that efficacy from the Sacrament of Penance, 
received, as we have already said, either actually or in desire. 
Meaning The word " our," is here used in a sense entirely different 
this°differ- from that in which we said, " our daily bread :" that bread is 

ent from u ours » because given us bv the munificence of God : the sins 

that of ' , ° J 

'our'inthe which we commit are " ours," because with us rests their guilt. 

petition" 2 They are our own free acts, otherwise they could not be imput- 
ed to us as sins ; sustaining, therefore, the weight, and confess- 
ing the guilt of our sins, we implore the divine clemency, which 
is necessary for their expiation. In this confession we seek not 
to palliate our guilt, nor to transfer the blame to others, as our 
first parents Adam and Eve did : (26) no, we unbosom ourselves 

(24) Luke, xi. 4. (25) Ps. Ixviii. 5. (26) Gen. iii. 12, 13. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 493 

unreservedly, and as we really are, pouring out, if we are wise, 
the prayer of the prophet : " Incline not my heart to evil words, 
" to make excuses in sins." (27) 

We do not say "forgive me," but "forgive us ;" because, in Why each 
virtue of the fraternal relation and mutual charity subsistingbe- says°'for- 
tween all men, we are each bound to be solicitous for the com- 'g iv f J^i' 

' m # not 'lor- 

mon salvation of all ; and, when we pray for ourselves, it is our 'give me.' 
duty to pray also for others. This manner of praying, deliv- N ote . 
ered by our Lord, and subsequently received, and always re- 
tained by the Church of God, was most strictly observed and 
enforced by the Apostles, In the Old and New Testaments 
we find this ardent zeal and intense earnestness in praying for 
the salvation of others, strikingly exemplified in the conduct of 
Moses and of Paul ; the former besought God in these words : 
" Either forgive them this trespass ; or, if thou dost not, strike 
" me out of the book that thou hast written ;" (28) the latter : 
" I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for sake of 
" my brethren." (29) 

" As WE ALSO FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS"] The WOrd " as," The word 

maybe understood in two senses : it has the force of a compar- £\J£2- 
ison when we beg of God to pardon us our sins, as we pardon stood in 

• ■ ii two senses: 

the wrongs and contumelies which we receive at the hands of both meant 
those who injure us. It also marks a condition, and in this * 
sense we find it interpreted by Christ our Lord : " If you 
" will forgive men their offences, your Father will forgive 
" you also your offences : but if you will not forgive men, 
" neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you also your of- 
" fences." (30) Either sense, however, equally implies the ne- 
cessity of forgiveness on our part, intimating, as it does, that, 
to obtain from God the pardon of our offences, we must also 
extend pardon to those from whom we may have received in- 
jury. Such is the rigor with which God exacts from us the 
pardon of injuries, and the tribute of mutual affection and love, 
that he rejects and despises the gifts and sacrifices of those 
who are not reconciled one to another. To conduct ourselves 
towards others, as we would have them to demean themselves 
towards us, is an obligation founded also upon the law of na- 

(21) Ps. cxl. 4. (28) Exod. xxxii. 32. (29) Rom. ix. 3. (W\ Matth. vi. 14. 



494 THE CATECHISM OF 

ture ; unparalleled, then, must be the effrontery of him, who, 
whilst feelings of hostility to a brother rankles in his breast, 
solicits from God the pardon of offences. 
To be for- Those, therefore, who have sustained injuries from others, 
fnus" for- should be prepared and prompt to pardon, urged to it as they 
give. are ^ ky ^jg f orm f prayer, and also by the command of God : 
" If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him ; and if he sin 
" against thee seven times in a day, and seven times a day be 
" converted unto thee, saying, ' l^repent,' forgive him." (31) 
The Apostle, too, and before him Solomon, said, "If thine ene- 
" my be hungry, give him to eat ; if he thirst, give him to drink ;" 
(32) and we read in S. Mark: " When thou standest to pray, 
" forgive, if thou hast aught against any man ; that also your Fa- 
" ther who is in heaven may forgive you your sins." (S3) 
Arguments But as, owing to the corruption of our nature, there is noth- 
forgiveness in& to which man yields a more reluctant assent than to the par- 
don of injuries, the pastor will exert all his powers and all the 
resources of his mind to bend the obstinacy of the faithful to 
this exercise of mildness and mercy, so necessary to a Chris- 
j tian. He will dwell on those passages of the divine oracles, 
in which we hear God himself commanding us to pardon our 
II. enemies ; and will proclaim, and it is strictly true, that a dispo- 
sition to forgive injuries, and to love their enemies from the 
heart, is the strongest evidence of their being the children of 
God. By loving our enemies we image forth, in some sort, the 
loving forbearance of God, our Father, who, by the death of his 
Son, ransomed from everlasting perdition, and reconciled to him- 
self the human race, who before were his avowed enemies. 
ri1 - To close this instruction the pastor will urge the command of 
Christ our Lord, to which the Christian cannot refuse obedi- 
ence without degrading himself to the lowest degree, and 
bringing confusion on his guilty head : " Pray for them that 
" persecute and calumniate you, that you may be the children 
" of your Father who is in heaven." (34) 
Caution to This, however, is a subject which demands consummate 
J-orgfvJness prudence on the part of the pastor, lest, disheartened by the 
of injuries difficulty, and yet knowing the necessity, of observing this 

how to be J1 * 

understoo ( 31) Luke> ^ii. 3 . (32) Rom. xii. 20. Prov. xxv. 21 , 22. 

(33; Mark, xi. 25. (34) Mark, xi. 25. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 495 

precept, any of his hearers should yield to despondency. 
There are some, who, aware of the obligation of burying in 
voluntary oblivion the injuries which they may have sustain- 
ed, and of loving those by whom they have been inflicted, de- 
sire to comply with these duties, and do comply with them as 
far as they are able, and yet find that they cannot entirely ob- 
literate from their minds the recollection of the injuries which 
they have suffered. There still lurks in the mind some linger- 
ing grudge, which harrows up conscience, and fills the mind 
with alarming apprehensions, lest, not having simply and sin- 
cerely forgiven, they may be guilty of disobedience to the 
command of God. The pastor, therefore, will here explain 
the opposite desires of the flesh and of the spirit ; the one 
prone to revenge, the other prepared to pardon ; from which 
contrariety arise continued struggles and conflicts. He will 
show that, if the appetites of corrupt nature are ever re- 
claiming against, and opposed to the dictates of reason, we 
are not, however, to yield to any misgivings regarding our sal- 
vation provided the spirit perseveres in the duty and determin- 
ation of forgiving injuries, and of loving every being stamped 
with the image of God. 

Some, perhaps, there are, who, because thev have not vet Those who 

,,.,.. , , n . . . , have not 

succeeded in bringing themselves to forgive injuries, and to yet fbrgiv- 
love their enemies, are deterred by the condition contained in t^T„Z 

this petition, as already explained, from repeating the Lord's t0 mak e 

T. rn C J.U • • J • - use of this 

Prayer, lo remove from their minds so pernicious an error, prayer; 

the pastor will adduce the two following considerations: first, and ^hy? 
that whoever belongs to the number of the faithful offers this 
prayer in the name of the entire Church, which must necessarily 
contain within its pale some pious persons, who have forgiven 
their debtors the debts mentioned in the petition ; and secondly, II. 
that when we offer this prayer to God, we also pray for whatever 
is necessary to enable us to comply with the petition. We 
pray for the pardon of our sins, and the gift of sincere repent- 
ance : we pray for a deep sense of sorrow : we pray for a ha- 
tred of sin ; and we pray for the grace of confessing our offen- 
ces truly and piously to the minister of God. As, then, it is 

(35) Matth. v. 44. 



496 THE CATECHISM OF 

necessary that we pardon those who have done us injury or 
injustice, when we ask pardon of God, we also ask strength to 
be reconciled to those, against whom we harbour feelings of 
hatred. It, therefore, becomes the duty of the pastor to cor- 
rect the gross and dangerous error of those, who fear that to 
utter this prayer would be to exasperate the anger of God; an 
apprehension as groundless as it is mischievous. It is his to 
exhort them to the frequent use of this prayer, in which they 
beseech God our Father, to grant them grace to pardon those 
who have injured them, and to love those who have hated 
them. 
Means of But that our prayer be heard, we should first seriously re- 
cm" prayer ^ ec ^ tna *- we are suppliants at the throne of God, soliciting from 
efficacious, him that pardon which he never refuses to the penitent; that 
we should therefore, possess that charity, and that piety which 
become penitents ; and that it becomes us in a special manner 
to keep before our eyes our crimes and enormities, and to expiate 
II. them with our tears. To this consideration we should add the 
greatest circumspection in guarding for the future against the 
occasions of sin, and against whatever may possibly expose us 
to the danger of offending God our Father. Of these precautions 
David was not unmindful : " My sin," says he, " is always be- 
" fore me ;" (36) and again : " I will water my couch with 
ni. " my tears." (37) Let each one also propose to himself 
the glowing fervor which animated the prayers of those, who 
besought God to pardon their sins, and who obtained the ob- 
ject of their earnest intreaties ; such as the publican, who 
through shame and grief, standing afar off, with eyes fixed on 
the ground, smote his breast, crying, " O God, be merciful to 
" me a sinner ;" (38) and also the woman, " a sinner," who, 
having washed the feet of our Lord, and wiped them with her 
hair, kissed them ; (39) and lastly, Peter the prince of the Apos- 
tles, who, " going forth wept bitterly." (40) 
IV. They should next consider that the weaker men are, and the 

more liable to moral contagion, the greater the necessity they 
are under of having recourse to numerous and frequent reme- 
dies : the remedies of a soul labouring under spiritual disease 

(36) Ps. 1. 5. (37) Ps. vi. 7. (38) Luke, xviii. 13. 

(39) Luke, vii. 38. (40; Matth. xxvi. 75. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 497 

are penance and the Holy Eucharist ; and to these, therefore, 
they should have frequent recourse. The Sacred Scriptures 
inform us that alms-deeds are also an efficacious remedy for 
healing the wounds of the soul. Those, therefore, who desire 
to offer up this prayer with pious dispositions, should kindly 
assist the poor according to the means with which Providence 
has blessed them. That alms exert a powerful influence .in ef- 
facing the stains of sin we learn from these words of Tobias : 
"Alms deliver from death, and the same is that which purgeth 
¥ away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting." 
(41) To the same truth Daniel bears testimony, when, ad- 
monishing Nabuchodonosor, he says : " Redeem thou thy sins 
" with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the 
" poor." (42) 

But the highest species of benevolence, and the most com- Note. 
mendable exercise of mercy, is to forget injuries, and to cher- 
ish good-will towards those who injure us, or ours,in person, pro- 
perty, or character. Whoever, therefore, desires to experi- 
ence in a special manner the mercy of God, let him present to 
God all his enmities, pardon every offence, and pray for his 
enemies from his heart, embracing every opportunity of deserv- 
ing well of them. This, however, is a subject which we have 
already explained, when treating of murder, and to that expo- 
sition we, therefore, refer the pastor. He will, however, con- 
clude what he has to say on this petition with the reflection, 
that nothing is or can be imagined more unjust than that he, 
who is so rigorous towards his fellow -man as to extend indul- 
gence to no one, should demand of God to be gracious and mer- 
ciful towards himself. 

(41) Tob. xii. 9. (42) Dan. iv. 24. 



AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION " 



When the children of God, having obtained the pardon of Dangers of 
their sins, and being now inflamed with the desire of devoting re apBe ' 
63 



498 THE CATECHISM OF 

themselves to the divine service, sigh for the coming of the 
kingdom of heaven ; and when, engaged in the performance of 
•all the duties of piety towards God, they depend entirely on his 
paternal will and providential care ; then it is, no doubt, that the 
enemy of mankind employs all his artifices, and exerts all his 
powers, against them, assailing them with such violence as to 
justify the apprehension, that, wavering in their good resolu- 
tions, they may relapse into sin, and their condition be thus 
rendered much worse than before their conversion to God. To 
them may be justly applied these words of the Apostle : " It 
" had been better for them not to have known the way of jus- 
"tice, than, after knowing it, to turn back from that holy com- 
" mandment which was delivered to them." (1 ) Therefore does 
our Lord command us to offer this petition, in order that we 
may commend ourselves daily to God, and implore his paternal 
care and assistance, well assured that when destitute of his pro- 
tection, we must be caught in the ambushes of our crafty ene- 
my. Nor is it in this petition alone that he commands us to 
beg of God not to suffer us to be led into temptation: address- 
ing his Apostles on the eve of his death, and declaring them 
" clean," (2) he says : " Watch ye and pray that ye enter not 
"into temptation." (3) This admonition, reiterated by our 
Lord on so solemn and -affecting an occasion, makes it particu- 
larly incumbent on the pastor to spare no pains in exciting the 
faithful to a frequent use of this prayer, that beset, as they all 
are, 'on every side and on each day of their lives,' by the dan- 
gers in which their enemy the Devil seeks to involve them, 
they may unceasingly cry out: " Lead us not into temptation ;" 
thus supplicating the protection of God, whose arm is alone 
able to crush the efforts of the infernal enemy. 
Necessity The necessity of the Divine assistance the faithful will un- 
tUion! PG " derstand, if they but reflect on their own weakness and igno- 
rance ; if they call to mind these words of Christ our Lord : 
" The spirit indeed is prompt, but the flesh weak :" (4) and if 
they consider the heavy calamities and misfortunes that must 
befall men through the instigation of the devil, if not upheld and 

(1) 2 Pet. it. 21. (2) John, xiii. 10. (3; Matth. xxvi. 41 

( 1) Malth.xxvi. 41. 



tition 
I 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 499 



assisted by the strong arm of the Omnipotent. Of this our Iilnsira- 
frailty what more striking example than that which the holy 
choir of the Apostles affords ? Evincing, as they had already 
done, such resolute courage, they however trembled at the first 
alarm : and abandoning the Saviour, fled from the scene of dan- 
ger. A more instructive lesson still is presented to us in the 
conduct of the prince of the Apostles. Loud in professing 
more than ordinary fortitude, and singular love towards Christ 
our Lord, and confiding in his own strength, Peter said : 
" Though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee ;" (5) Note. 
yet in a few moments after, affrighted by the voice of a poor 
servant maid, he protested with an oath that he knew not the 
Lord. Doubtless his strength was unequal to his ardor, when 
he professed such devotedness to his Lord : but if the confi- ^ ote> 
dence, which they reposed in the weakness of human nature, 
has betrayed men of eminent piety into the most grievous sins, 
what just cause of serious apprehensions to the mass of man- 
kind, who are so far inferior to them in holiness. 

The pastor, therefore, will place before the eyes Of the faith- n. 
ful the conflicts in which we have continually to engage, the 
dangers which we have to brave, assailed, as we are on all 
sides, by the world, the flesh, and the devil ; and this as long 
as the soul shall dwell in the perishable tabernacle of the body. 
Who has not had melancholy experience of the evil effects of 
corrupt passion, of anger and concupiscence ? Who is not har- 
rassed by their assaults ? Who does not feel the poignancy of 
their stings? Who does not burn with these torches that 
smoulder within him ? In truth, so numerous are these assaults, 
so varied these attacks, that it is extremely difficult to escape 
unhurt. Besides the enemies that dwell and live within us, m. 
there are also other most inveterate foes, of whom it is writ- 
ten : " Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood ; but against 
" principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of 
" this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high 
" places." (6) The efforts of our domestic enemies are second- 
ed by the attacks of the devils from without, who assail us 
openly, and also insinuate themselves by secret stratagem in- 

(5) Matth. xxvi. 35. (6) Eph. vi. 12. 



500 THE CATECHISM OF 

to our souls ; in so much, that it is not without extreme diffi- 
Note. culty that we can elude their malignity. These the Apostle 
calls " princes" on account of the excellence of their nature : 
(their nature is superior to that of man, and of every visible 
creature) he calls them " principalities and powers," because 
they excel not only by their nature but also by their power : 
he calls them "rulers of the world of this darkness," because 
they rule not the world of light and of glory, that is to say, the 
good and the pious; but the world of darkness and of gloom, 
that is, those who, blinded by the debasement and darkness of 
a wicked and flagitious life, are contented to be the slaves of 
the devil, the prince of darkness. He also calls the evil de- 
mons " the spirits of wickedness." There is a wickedness of 
the flesh and of the spirit : the former inflames to sensual lusts 
and criminal pleasures : the latter to wickedness <5f purpose and 
depravity of desire ; and these belong to the superior part of 
the soul, and are more criminal than the former, in the same 
proportion that reason is superior to sensual impulse. This 
wickedness of Satan the Apostle denominates " in the high pla- 
" ces," because his chief aim is to deprive us of the inheritance 
of heaven. 

JV. We may hence learn that the power of the infernal enemy is 
formidable, his courage undaunted, and his hatred cruel and im- 
placable. He wages against us a perpetual war with such im- 
mitigable fury, that with him there is no peace, no cessation of 
hostilities. Of his audacity we may form an idea from the 
words of Satan recorded by the Prophet: "I will ascend into 
"heaven:" (7) he attacked our first parents in Paradise : heas- 
sailed the Prophets : he beset the Apostles, and as our Lord de- 
clares, " he would sift them as wheat :" (8) in fine, his audaci- 
ty was not deterred from aggression on the person of our Lord 
himself ! His insatiable desire, his unwearied perseverance, 
are thus expressed by S. Peter : " your adversary the devil, as 
" a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour;" 

V (9) Nor are we tempted by one demon only : sometimes a host 
of infernal spirits combine in the assault. This was avowed by 
the evil spirit, who, when asked his name by Christ our Lord, 

(1) Isa. xiv. 13. (8) Luke, xxii. 81. (9) 1 Pet. \. 8. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 501 

replied : " My name is legion," (10) that is a host of demons, 
which tormented their unhappy victim ; and of another it is writ- 
ten, that " he took with him seven other spirits more wicked 
" than himself, and entering- in they dwelt there." (11) 

There are many who, because they feel not the impetuous as- ty^the *" 
saults of the devil, may imagine that this picture of his power wicked. 
is more fanciful than true. No wonder that such persons are 
not attacked by the devil, whereas they surrender to him at dis- 
cretion. They possess neither piety, nor charity, nor any oth- 
er christian virtue : they are entirely subject to the dominion of 
the devil ; and becoming, as they do, the willing abodes of 
the infernal tyrant, there needs no temptation to ensure their 
ruin. But those who have dedicated themselves to God, lead- to the good 
ing a heavenly life upon earth, are the chief objects of the as- 
saults of Satan : against them he harbours the most malignant ha- 
tred : for them he is continually laying snares. 

The Sacred Scriptures abound in examples of holy men, 
who, although firm and resolute, fell victims to his open vio- 
lence or his covert artifice. Adam, David, Solomon, and oth- 
ers, whom it were tedious to ^numerate, have experienced the 
furious assaults and crafty cunning of the spirits of darkness, 
which human wisdom and human strength are unable to elude 
or combat. Who then can deem himself sufficiently secure, 
when abandoned to his own weakness ? Hence the necessity Note. 
of offering up pure and pious prayer to God, imploring him 
" not to suffer us to be tempted above our strength, but to make 
" issue with temptation, that we may be able to bear it." (12) 

But should any of the faithful, through weakness or ignorance, In tempta- 
dread the power of the devil, they are to be exhorted to take re- tlon ' 
fuge in the harbour of prayer, whenever they are overtaken 
by the storm of temptation. The power and pertinacity of Sa- Note. 
tan, however great, are not, in his unquenchable hatred of man- 
kind, such as to enable him to tempt and torment as much, 
and as long, as he pleases : all his power is subject to the con- 
trol and permission of God. Of this we have a conspicuous 
example in Job : the devil could have touched nothing belong- 
ing to him, if God had not said, " Behold, all that he hath is 

(lo; Mark, v. 9. (11 j Malth. xii. 45. (12) 1 Cor. x. 13. 



502 THE CATECHISM OF 

" in thy hand ;" whilst, on the other hand, he and his children, 
and all that he possessed, should have been entirely and at once 
destroyed by the devil, if God had not said, " Only put not 
" forth thy hand upon his person." (13) Nay, so restricted is 
the power of the devil, that he could not even enter into the 
swine mentioned in the Gospel, without the permission of God. 
(14) 
'Tempta- To understand the force of this petition, it is necessary to 
meaning show the meaning of the word " temptation," as here employ - 
of - ed, and also, what it is to be led into temptation. To tempt is to 

sound, to probe, him who is tempted, that, eliciting from him 
what we desire, we may extract the truth. In this meaning of 
the word, God does not tempt ; for what is it that is unknown 
to God? "All things are naked and open to his eyes." (15) 
II. Another species of temptation consists in pushing our scrutiny 
far, having some further object in view, either for a good or a 
bad purpose ; for a good purpose, as when worth is tried, in order 
that it may be rewarded and honored, and its example proposed as 
a model for imitation, and as a motive to give glory to God. This 
is the only sort of temptation which consists with the divine at- 
tributes, and of it we have an illustration in these words of 
Deuteronomy : " The Lord your God tries you, that it may ap- 
" pear whether you love him or not." (16) In this sense, God 
is also said to tempt those who are his, when he visits them 
with both want and infirmity and other calamities, with a view 
to try their patience, and in them to present to others an exam- 
ple of Christian virtue. Thus was Abraham tempted to offer 
his son in sacrifice, (17) and became a singular example of 
obedience and patience, worthy of being preserved in the re- 
cords of all future ages ; thus also Tobias, of whom it is writ- 
ten, " Because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary 
that temptation should prove thee." (18) 
Man, how Man is tempted for a bad purpose, when impelled to sin or 
destruction. This is the peculiar province of the devil ; he 
tempts mankind to deceive and precipitate them into ruin : and 
* is, therefore, called, in Scripture, "the tempter." (19) In 

(13) Job, i. 12. (14) Matth. viii. 31. Mark, liv. 12. Luke, viii. 32. 

(15) Heb. iv. 13. (16) Dent. xiii. 3. (17) Gen. xxii. 1. 

(18)Tob. xii. 13. (19) Matth. iv. S. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 503 

these temptations, at one time stimulating us from within, he 
makes use of the agency of the passions ; at another time, as- 
sailing us from without, he makes use of depraved men as his 
emissaries ; and employs, with a fatal efficiency, the services 
particularly of heretics, who, " sitting in the chair of pesti- 
u lence," (20) which, instead of being the chair of truth, is 
converted into that of error, scatter, with profuse hand, the 
deadly seeds of false doctrine, unsettling and precipitating into 
the gulf of perdition their deluded adherents, who draw no line 
of distinction between vice and virtue, and who are of them- 
selves but too much inclined to evil. 

We are said to be led into temptation, when we yield to its To be led 
wicked suggestions. This takes place in a two-fold manner ; tation emp ~ 
first, when, abandoning our position, we rush into the evil to ™. eanin g 
which we are allured by the agency of others. God tempts I. 
no man thus : he is the occasion of sin to none : " he hateth all 
"who work iniquity ;" (21) and, accordingly, we read in S. 
James, u Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is 
" tempted by God ; for God is not a tempter of evils." (22) 
The man who, although he does not tempt us, nor co-operate II r 
in tempting us, has it in his power to prevent us from being 
tempted, or from yielding to temptation, and does not, is also 
said to lead us into temptation. God suffers the good and the 
pious to be thus tempted ; but he does not leave them unsup- 
ported by his grace. Sometimes, however, we fall, being left 
to ourselves by the just and rigorous judgments of God, in pun- 
ishment of our crimes. 

God is also said to lead us into temptation, when we HI. 
abuse to our own destruction, the blessings which he be- 
stows on us as the means of promoting our eternal salvation, 
and, like the prodigal child, dissipate in voluptuousness our 
Father's substance, obedient to the impulse of bad passions. 
(23) In such circumstances we may truly say what the Apos- 
tle says of the Law : " The commandment that was ordained 
a to life, the same was found unto death to me." (24) Of this Illu stra- 
Jerusalem, as Ezekiel testifies, affords an apposite exemplifi- 

(20) Ps. i. 1. (21) Ps. v. 5. (22) James, i. 13. 

(23) Luke, xv. 12. (24) Rom. vii. 10. 



504 THE CATECHISM OF 

cation. Enriched and adorned by the Almighty with blessings 
of every sort, insomuch that God said by the mouth of his Pro- 
phet, ' ' Thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had 
" put upon thee :" (25) loaded with an accumulation of divine 
gifts, Jerusalem, far from evincing gratitude to God, from 
whom she had received, and was still receiving, so many fa- 
vours ; far from making use of those heavenly gifts for the end 
for which they were bestowed, the attainment of her own hap- 
piness, and laying aside all hope and every idea of deriving 
from them celestial fruit, ungrateful Jerusalem, sunk in luxu- 
ry and abandonment, looked only to the enjoyment of her pre- 
sent superabundance. This is a subject on which Ezekiel 
dwells at considerable length, in the chapter to which we have 
Note, already referred, and to which the pastor may recur. The 
inference, however, is obvious : it is, that those whom God 
permits to convert the abundant means, with which his Provi- 
dence has blessed them, into instruments of vice, are equally 
guilty of ingratitude with the unhappy Jerusalem. 
Scriptural The sacred Scriptures sometimes express the permission 
gy^x- °" °f God in language, which, if understood literally, would im- 
plamed. p]y a positive act on the part of God ; and this scriptural usage 
also demands attention. In Exodus it is said, " I will harden 
" the heart of Pharaoh ;" (26) and in Isaias, " Blind the heart 
" of this people ;" (27) and the Apostle, writing to the Ro- 
mans, says, " God delivered them up to shameful affections, 
" and to a reprobate sense :" (28) but these, and similar passa- 
ges, we are not to understand as implying any positive act on 
the part of God; they express his permission only. (29) 
Meaning These observations premised, it will not be difficult to com- 
tition : ad- prehend the object for which we pray in this petition. We do 
temptotion not as ^ to ^ e tota % exempt from temptation: human life is one 
continued temptation ; and this state of probation is useful and 
advantageous to man. Temptation teaches us to know our- 
selves, that is, our own weakness, and to humble ourselves un- 
der the powerful hand of God ; and by fighting manfully, we 

(25J Ezek. xvi. 14. (26) Exod. iv. & vii. 

(27) Isa. vi. 10. (2S) Rom. i. 26. 

(29) Vid. Irsen. lib. 4. contra hasret. cap. 48. Tertull. lib. 2. contra Marc. 14. 
Aug. lib. de praedest. et gratia, c. 1. et de prsed. sanct. cap. 9. et lib. de grat. et 
lib. arbit. cap. 21, 22, 23. D. Thom. 1. p. qiuest. 87. art. 2 et 22. queest. 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 505 

expect to receive a never-fading crown of glory ; " for he that 
"striveth for the mastery is not crowned, except he strive law- 
" fully^' (30) " Blessed is the man," says S. James, " that en- 
" dureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall 
" receive the crown of life, which God hath promised to them 
" that love him." (31) If we are sometimes hard pressed by the 
temptation of the enemy, it will also cheer us to reflect, " that 
" we have a High-priest to help us, who can have compassion 
" on our infirmities, tempted himself in all things." (32) 

What, then, do we pray for in this petition ? We pray that What w ? 
the divine assistance may not forsake us ; that we yield not to this peti- 
temptation, deceived by the artifice of the wicked one ; that we 10n j. 
give not up the victory, worsted in the contest ; and that the IL 
grace of God may be at hand to succour us when our strength 
fails, to refresh and invigorate us on the evil day. We should, 
therefore, implore the divine assistance, in general, under all 
temptations, and, in particular, when assailed by any particular 
temptation. This we find to have been the conduct of Da- 
vid, under almost every species of temptation: against ly- 
ing, he prayed in these words: "Take not thou the word 
" of truth utterly out of my mouth :" (33) against covetous- 
ness, " Jncline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to cove- 
" tousness :" (34) and against the vanities of this life, and the al- 
lurements of concupiscence, he prays thus : " Turn away my 
(i eyes, that they may not behold vanity." (35) We pray, „* 
therefore, that Ave yield not to evil desires, and be not wearied 
in enduring temptation ; that we deviate not from the way of 
the Lord-, that in adversity, as in prosperity, we preserve 
equanimity and fortitude ; and that God may never deprive us 
of his protection. Finally, we pray that God may crush be- 
neath our feet the head of the serpent. 

The pastor will next exhort the faithful to those things which, 0b - ectg of 

in offering this petition, should constitute the chief objects of ourtho'ts 

their thoughts and reflections. It will, then, be found most ti^in^* 

efficacious, when offering this prayer, to distrust our own P rese nting 

... . this peti* 

strength, aware of our extreme infirmity ; and, placing all our tion. 

hopes of safety in the divine goodness, and relying on the di- 

(30) 2 Tim. ii. 5. (31) James, i. 12. (32) Hob. iv. lb. 

(33) Ps. cxviii. 43. (34) Ps. cxviii. 36. (35) Ps. cxviii. 37, 

64 



tions. 



506 THE CATECHISM Of 

vine protection, to encounter the greatest dangers with great- 
ness of soul; calling to mind particularly the many instances 
on record of persons animated with this hope, and thus arming 
Illusira- themselves with resolution, who were delivered by Almighty 
God from the fangs of Satan. When Joseph was assailed by 
the criminal solicitations of a maddening woman, did not God 
rescue him from the imminent danger, and exalt him to the 
highest pitch of glory? (36) Did he not preserve Susannah, 
when beset by the ministers of Satan, and on the point of be- 
ing made the victim of an iniquitous sentence? Nor should 
the divine interposition in her behalf excite our surprise ; " her 
"heart," says the Prophet, "trusted in God." (37) How 
exalted the praise, how great the glory of Job, who triumph- 
ed over the world, the flesh, and the devil ! There are on re- 
cord many similar examples, to which the pastor should refer, 
in order to exhort with earnestness his pious hearers to this 
hope and confidence. 

II# The faithful should also reflect under whose standard they 

fight against the temptations of the enemy : they should con- 
sider that their leader is no less a person than Christ the Lord, 
who won the laurels of victory in the same combat. He over- 
came the devil : he is that " stronger man" mentioned in the 
Gospel, who, "coming upon the strong armed man," over- 
came him, deprived him of his arms, and stripped him of his 
spoils. Of his victory over the world, we read in S. John : 
" Have confidence : I have overcome the world :" (38) in the 
Apocalypse, he is called " the conquering lion ;" and it is said 
that, " conquering, he went forth to conquer :" (39) and by his 

HI. victory he has given power to others to conquer. The Epis- 
tle of S. Paul to the Hebrews abounds with the victories of 
holy men, " who by faith conquered kingdoms, stopped the 

IV. " mouths of lions." (40) Whilst we read of such achievements, 
we should also take into account the victories which are every 
day won by men eminent for faith, hope, and charity, in their 
domestic and exterior conflicts with the devil ; victories so 
numerous and so signal, that, were we spectators of them, we 

(36) Gen. xxix. 7. (37) Dan. xiii. 61. (33) John, xvi. 33. 

(39) Apoc. v. 5. (40) Heb. xi. 33. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 507 

should deem no event of more frequent occurrence, none of 
more glorious issue. Of the discomfiture of the wicked one, 
S. John says, " I write unto you, young men, because you are 
" strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and you have 
"overcome the wicked one." (41) We must, however, re- Note- 
collect that Satan is overcome not by indolence, sleep, wine, 
revelling, or lust ; but by prayer, labour, watching, fasting, 
continence, and chastity ; " Watch ye and pray, that ye enter 
" not into temptation," (42) is, as we have already said, the ad- 
monition of our Lord. They who make use of these weapons 
in the conflict are sure to put the enemy to flight : " From 
"them who resist the devil," says S.James, " he will fly." 
(43) 

In these victories, however, which are achieved by holv^ lthout 

' . ' J J the divine 

men, let no one indulge feelings of self-complacency, nor fiat- assistance 

ter himself that, by his own single unassisted exertions, he is^j^L ° 

able to withstand the hostile assaults of the devil. This is not 

within the power of human nature, nor within the competency 

of human frailty. In order that we may ascribe to God alone 

the victory, and may thank him alone for; its achievement, by 

whose guidance and assistance alone we can be victorious, the 

strength by which we lay prostrate the satellites of Satan, 

comes from God, " who maketh our arms as a bow of brass; 

" by whose aid the bow of the mighty is overcome, and 

" the weak are girt with strength ; who giveth us the protec- 

" tion of salvation ; whose right hand upholdeth us ;" (44) 

" who teacheth our hands to war, and our fingers to battle." 

(45) To this we are exhorted by the example of the Apostle : 

" Thanks to God," says, he, " " who hath given us the victo- 

" ry, through our Lord Jesus Christ." (46) The voice from 

heaven, mentioned in the Apocalypse, also proclaims God to 

be the author of our victories : " Now is come salvation, and 

" strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his 

" Christ ; because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth ; 

"and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb." (47) That 

the victory obtained over the world and the flesh belongs to 

our Lord Jesus Christ, we learn from the same authority: 

(41) Uohn, ii. 13. (42) Matth. xxvi. 41. (43) James, iv. 7. 

(44) 1 Kings, ii. 4. (45) Ps. xvii. 85. (46) 1 Cor. xv. 57. 

(47) Apoc. xii. 10. 



508 THE CATECHISM OF 

" They shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome 
" them." (48) On the cause and the manner of conquering temp- 
tation, thus much will suffice. 
The re- These things explained, the pastor will propose to the faith- 

which a- ful the crowns prepared by God, and the eternal and supera- 
waitour bundant rewards reserved for those who conquer. To this ef- 

victones » 

over temp- feet he will cite divine authorities from the same inspired Epis- 
tle : " He that shall overcome shall not be hurt by the second 
" death ;" and in another place : " He that shall overcome, 
" shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out 
" his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name 
" before my Father, and before his angels." (49) A little af- 
ter our divine Lord himself thus addresses John : " He that 
" shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my 
" God ; and he shall go out no more :" (50) and again : " To 
" him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me on my 
" throne ; as I also have overcome, and am set down with my 
" Father in his throne." (51) Finally, having unveiled the 
glory of the saints, and the never-ending bliss which they shall 
enjoy in heaven, he adds, " He that shall overcome, shall pos- 
• " sess these things." (52) 

(48) Apoc. xvii. 14. (49) Apoc. iii."5. (50) Apoc. Hi. 12. 

(5l) Apoc. iii. 21. (52) Apoc. xxi. 17. 



BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL. 



This peti- This petition, with which the Son of God concludes this 
pitome of prayer, embodies the substance of all the rest. To mark its 
all the force and weight, praying on the eve of his passion for the sal- 
vation of mankind, he thus concluded: "I pray thou keep 
" them from evil." (1) The force and efficacy of the other 
" petitions, he, as it were, epitomized in this form of prayer, 
which he delivered by way of precept, and confirmed by ex- 

(1) John, xvii. 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 509 

ample. If we obtain what, is comprehended in this prayer, the 
protection of God against evil, that protection which enabled 
us to defeat, with security and safety, the machinations of the 
world and the devil, we are fortified by the authority of S. 
Cyprian in affirming, that nothing more remains to be asked. (2) 
Such, then, being the nature of this petition, the diligence of Diligence 

01 til 6 p&S- 

the pastor in its exposition should be commensurate to its im- tor in its 
portance. The difference between it and the preceding peti- difference 
tion consists in this, that in the one we beg to avoid sin, in the between it 
other, to escape punishment. It cannot, therefore, be necessa- ceding P e- 
ry to remind the faithful of the numerous evils and calamities j^ 1 ' °^ e ^° 
to which we are exposed, and how much we stand in need of repeated. 
the divine assistance. The picture of our misery has been 
drawn in lively colours by sacred and profane writers; but the 
dangers which beset himself and others have given each one a 
melancholy experience of the number and magnitude of the mis- 
eries incidental to human life. We are all convinced of the 
truth of these words of holy Job, which was exemplified in his 
own sufferings : " Man, born of woman, and living for a short 
a time, is filled with many miseries. He cometh forth like a 
" flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow, and never 
" continueth in the same state." (3) That no day passes with- 
out its own trouble or inconvenience is evinced by these words 
of our Lord : " Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof;" (4) 
and indeed the condition of human life is pointed out by our 
Lord himself, when he admonishes us, that we are to take up 
our cross daily, and follow him. (5) 

Feeling, therefore, as every one must, the labours and dan- 0u r dan- 
gers inseparable from human life, it will not be difficult to con- difficulties 
vince them, that to implore of God deliverance from evil is an serve . t0 

' x _ convince 

imperative duty : a duty to the performance of which they will us of the 
be the more easily induced, as no motive exercises a more pow- f prayer, 
erful influence on human action than a desire and hope of deliver- 
ance from those evils, which oppress, or impend over them. 
To fly to God for assistance in distress is a principle implant- Note. 
ed in the human mind by the hand of nature ; as it is written, 

(2) Lib. de orat. citat. (3) Job, xiv. 1. (4) Matth, vi, 34. 

(5) Luke, ix. 23. 



510 



THE CATECHISM OF 



" Fill their faces with shame ; and they shall seek thy name, 

« O Lord." (6) 
How to If, then, in calamities and dangers the unbidden impulse of 
PJYJoi,^ nature prompts men to call on God, it surely becomes the du- 
pjrved in ty f those, to whose fidelity and prudence their salvation is 

our pray- , , . , , 

ers. entrusted, to instruct them, m a special manner, in the proper 

performance of this duty. There are some who, contrary to 
the command of Jesus Christ, invert the order of prayer : he, 
who commands us to have recourse to him in the day of tribu- 
lation, (7) has also prescribed to us the order in which we 
should solicit the divine favors. It is his will that, before we 
pray to be delivered from evil, we pray that the name of God 
be sanctified ; that his kingdom come, and so of the other peti- 
tions of the Lord's Prayer, which are so many gradations by 
which we ascend to this their summit. Yet there are those 
who, if their head, their side, or their foot, ache ; if they sustain 
loss of property ; if menaces or dangers from an enemy alarm 
them ; if famine, war or pestilence afflict them, omit all the oth- 
er petitions of the Lord's Prayer, and ask only to be delivered 
from these evils. This preposterous practice is at variance 
with the express command of Christ : " Seek first the kingdom 
" of God." (8) To pray, therefore, as we ought, when we beg 
to be delivered from calamities and evils, we should have in 
view the greater glory of God. Thus, when David offered 
this prayer: "Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger," he sub- 
joined the reason, " For there is no one in death that is mindful 
" of thee, and who shall confess to thee in hell;" (9) and, hav- 
ing implored God to have mercy on him, he added : " I will 
" teach the unjust thy ways ; and the wicked shall be convert- 
ed to thee." (10) 
Difference ^ ie faithful are to be excited to the adoption of this saluta- 
between r y manner of praying, and to an imitation of the example of the 

the prayers i i • • • , 

of the infi- prophet ; and at the same time, their attention should also be 

the Chris- P omte d to the marked difference that exists between the pray- 

tian. ers of the infidel and those of the Christian. The infidel, too, 

begs of God to cure his diseases, and to heal his wounds, to de- 

(6) Ps. Ixxxii. 17. (7) Ps. xlix. 15. (Sj Matth. vi. 33. 

(9) Ps. vi. 6. (10) Ps. 1. 15. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 511 

liver him from approaching or impending ills ; but he places his 
principal hope of recovery, or deliverance in the remedies pro- 
vided by nature, or prepared by art. He makes no scruple of 
using medicine no matter by whom prepared, no matter if ac- 
companied by charms, spells, or other diabolical arts, provided 
he can promise himself some hope of recovery. Not so the 
Christian : when visited by sickness or other adversity, he flies 
to God as his sovereign refuge ; in him does he centre all his 
hopes of returning health ; him only does he acknowledge as 
the author of all good, adoring him as his deliverer, and ascrib- 
ing to him whatever healing virtue resides in medicines, convin- 
ced that then only are they efficacious, when it is the divine 
will that they should be so. They are given by God to man 
to heal his corporal infirmities ; and hence these words of Ec- 
clesiasticus : " The Most High hath created medicines out of 
" the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them." (11) He, 
therefore, who has pledged his fidelity to Jesus Christ, does 
not place his principal hope of recovery in such remedies : he 
places it in God the author of these medicines, and the Sacred 
Scriptures condemn the conduct of those who, confiding in the 
power of medicine, seek no assistance from God. (12) Nay, 
more, those, who regulate their lives by the laws of God, ab- 
stain from the use of all medicines, which are not evidently in- 
tended by Almighty God to be medicinal ; and, were there even 
a certain hope of recovery by using any other, they abstain 
from them as so many charms and diabolical artifices. 

The faithful, then, are to be exhorted to place their confidence In sickness 

our conn- 
ill God: our most bountiful Father has commanded us to beg of dence 

him our deliverance from evil ; and commanded, as we are, by pj° ced j° 
him to implore his goodness, we must cherish a hope of obtain- God - 
ing the object of our prayers. Of this truth the Sacred Scrip- 
tures afford many illustrations, that they whom reasoning may 
not inspire with confidence, may be compelled to yield to a 
strong array of examples. Abraham, Jacob, Lot, Joseph, and 
David, are unexceptionable attestations of the divine goodness ; 
and the numerous instances recorded in the New Testament of 
persons rescued from the greatest dangers, by the efficacy of 

(11) Eccl. xxxviii. 4. (12) Paral. xvi. 12. 



512 THE CATECHISM OF 

devout prayer, are so familiar as to supersede the necessity of 

crowding the page with citations. On this subject therefore, 

we shall content ourselves with one sentence from the prophet, 

which is sufficient to confirm even the weakest mind : " The 

"just cried, and the Lord heard them ; and delivered them out 

"of all their troubles." (13) 

Some We now come to explain the force and nature of the petition, 

commonly in order that the faithful may understand that in it we by no 

considered means solicit deliverance from every species of evil. There 

evils which . 

are not are some things which are commonly considered evils, and 

meaning which, notwithstanding, are fraught with advantage to those 
of the pe- wno endure them : such was the sting of the flesh experienced 
by the Apostle, that, by the aid of divine grace, power might 
be perfected in infirmity. (14) When the pious Christian learns 
the salutary influence of such things, far from praying for their 
removal, he rejoices in them exceedingly. It is, therefore, 
against those evils only, which conduce not to our spiritual 
interests, that we pray ; not against such as are auxiliary to our 
salvation. The full force of the petition, therefore, is, that, 
freed from sin, we may also be freed from the danger of temp- 
tation, and from internal and external evils ; that we may be pro- 
tected from water, fire and lightning; that the fruits of the 
earth may be preserved; that we be not visited by dearth, se- 
dition, or the horrors of war ; that God may banish disease, 
pestilence, desolation from us ; that he may keep us from slave- 
ry, imprisonment, exile, treason, treachery, and from all those 
evils which fill mankind with terror and misery. Finally, we 
pray that God would remove all occasions of sin and iniquity. 
We do not however pray to be delivered solely from those 
things, which all look upon as evils : with them we also de- 
precate those things which almost all consider to be good, 
such as riches, honors, health, strength, and even life itself, ra- 
ther than that they should prove destructive or detrimental to 
our immortal souls. We also beg of God that we be not cut 
off by a sudden death; that we provoke not his anger against 
us ; that we be not condemned to suffer the punishments re- 
served for the wicked ; that we be not sentenced to endure the 

(13) Ps. xxxiii. IS. (14) 2 Cor. xii. 7. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 513 

fire of purgatory, from which we piously and devoutly implore 
the liberation of others. This is the explanation of this peti- 
tion given by the Church in the Mass and Litanies : in it 
we beseech God to avert from us all evil past, present, and to 
come. 

The goodness of God delivers us from evil in a variety of ^°y S d f r hv " 
ways. He prevents impending evils, as we read with regard evil in a 
to the Patriarch Jacob: the slaughter of the Sichimites had wa ys. 
exasperated the fury of his enemies ; but God delivered him 
from their hands : " The terror of God fell upon all the cities 
" round about, and they durst not pursue after them as they 
"went away." (15) The blessed, who reign with Christ the 
Lord in heaven, have been delivered by the divine assistance 
from all evil ", but, although the Almighty delivers us from some 
evils, it is not his will that, whilst journeying in this our mor- 
tal pilgrimage, we should be entirely exempt from all. The Note. 
consolations with which God sometimes refreshes those who 
labour under adversity are, however, equivalent to an exemp- 
tion from all evil ; and with these the prophet consoled him- 
self when he said : " According to the multitude of my sor- 
" rows in my heart, thy consolations have rejoiced my soul." 
(16) God, moreover, delivers men from evil when he pre- 
serves them unhurt in the midst of extreme danger : thus did 
his protecting arm save the three children who were thrown 
into the fiery furnace, (17) and Daniel, who was cast into the 
lion's den, and who also escaped unhurt. (18) 

According to the interpretation of SS. Basil, Chrysostom, The devil 
and Augustine, the devil is specially called " the evil one;" caned 'the 
because he was the author of man's transgression, that is, of ' e l [l ° ne >' 

. and why. 

his sin and iniquity ; and because God makes use of him as an I. 
instrument to chastise the impiety of sinners. The evils which 
mankind endure in punishment of sin are appointed by God ; 
and this is the meaning of these words of the prophet Amos : 
" Shall there be evil in a city which the Lord hath not done ?" 
(19) and also of Isaias : " I am the Lord and there is none else : 
" I form the light and create darkness : I make peace and cre- 

(15) Gen. xxxv. 5. (16) Ps. lxiii. 19. (17) Dan. vi. 22. 

(18) Dan. iii. 50. (19) Amos, iii. 6. 

65 



514 THE CATECHISM OF 



Note. 



II. " ate evil." (20) The devil is also called evil, because although 
we have never done any thing to provoke his hostility, he 
wages perpetual war against us, and pursues us with mortal 
hatred ; but, if we put on the armour of faith and the shield of 
innocence, he can have no power to hurt us. He, however, 
unceasingly tempts us by external evils and every other means 
of annoyance within his reach ; and therefore do we beseech 
God to deliver us from evil. (20) 
We say We say "from evil," not "from evils," because the evils 
no™from wn ^ cn we experience from others we ascribe to the arch ene- 
evils, and my as their author and instigator. This is also a reason why 
we should be less disposed to cherish sentiments of resentment 
towards our neighbour, turning our hatred and anger against 
Satan himself, by whom men are impelled to inflict injuries. 
If, therefore, your neighbour has injured you in any respect, 
when you bend in prayer to God your Father, beg of him not 
only to deliver you from evil, that is, from the injuries which 
your neighbour inflicts; but also to rescue your neighbour 
from the power of the devil, whose wicked suggestions impel 
man to deeds of injustice. (21) 
Patience Finally, we should know, that if by prayers and vows we 
tmueda£" are not delivered from evil, we should endure our afflictions 
fliction. w ^}j patience, convinced that it is the will of God that we 
should so endure them. If, therefore, God hear not our pray- 
ers, we are not to yield to the feelings of peevishness or dis- 
content ; it is ours to submit in all things, to the divine will and 
pleasure, convinced that what happens in accordance with the 
will of God, not that which, on the contrary, is agreeable to our 
own wishes, is really useful and salutary to us. In fine, that 
during our mortal career we should be prepared to meet every 
species of affliction and calamity, not only with patience, but 
even with joy, is a truth which the zealous pastor should press 
upon the attention of his pious hearers. " All that will live 
" godly in Christ Jesus," says S. Paul, u shall suffer persecu- 
" tion :" (22) "Through many tribulations we must enter into 
"the kingdom of heaven;" (23) and again, our Lord himself 

(20) Isa. xlv. 7. 

(21) Chrysost. horn. 20. in Matt. &hom. 5 in Job. Aug;, in Ecclcsiast. dogm. 
cap. 57. Basil, inhom. quod Deusnonsit auctor malorum, non procul a fine. 

(22) 2 Tim. iii. 12. (23) Acts, xiv. 21. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 515 

says : " Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so Example. 
" enter into his glory." (24) A servant, then, should not be 
greater than his master ; and as S. Bernard says, " Delicate 
" members do not become a head crowned with thorns." (25) 
The example of Uriah challenges our admiration and imitation : 
when urged by David to remain at home, he replied : " The 
" ark of God, and Israel, and Judah, dwell intents: and shall I 
" go into my house ?" (26) 

If to prayer we bring with us these reflections and these dis- Other ex- 
positions, although encompassed by evils on every side, like amp es ' 
the three children who passed unhurt amidst the flames, we 
shall be preserved through the perilous ordeal ; or at least, 
like the Macchabees, we shall bear up against adverse fortune 
with firmness and fortitude. In the midst of contumelies and 
tortures we shall imitate the blessed example of the Apostles, 
who, after they had been scourged, " rejoiced exceedingly that 
" they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name 
" of Jesus." (27) Like them, we too shall sing in transports 
of joy: " Princes have persecuted me without cause ; and my 
" heart hath been in awe of thy words ; I will rejoice at thy 
" words, as one that hath found great spoil." (28) # 

(24) Luke, xxiv. 26. (25) Serm. 5, de omnibus Sanctis. 

(26) 2 -Kings, xi. 1. (27) Acts, v. 4. (28) Ps. cxviii. 161. 



AMEN. 



This word "Amen," S. Jerome, in his commentary on S. The seal of 

Matthew, calls what it really is, u the seal of the Lord's pray- pr ayer°: 

"er." (1) As then we have already admonished the faithful ^ uits of 
v ' J this con- 

with regard to the preparation to be made before holy prayer, eluding 
so we deem it necessary that they should know, why we close grayer 
our prayers with this word, and also what it signifies: devo- in general. 



(1) in Matt. vi. 6. 



516 THE CATECHISM OF 

beginning our prayers to God. The faithful, then, are to know 
that the fruits, which we gather from the conclusion of the 
Lord's prayer, are numerous and abundant; and of these, the 
richest is the attainment of the objects of our prayers, a matter 
on which we have already been sufficiently diffuse. By this 
concluding word, not only do we obtain a propitious hearing 
from God, but also receive other blessings of a higher order 
still, the excellence of which surpasses all powers of description. 
By prayer, as S. Cyprian observes, we commune with God ; 
and thus the divine Majesty is, after an inexplicable manner, 
brought nearer to those who are engaged in prayer than to 
others, and enriches them with peculiar gifts. Those, there- 
fore, who pray devoutly, may not be inaptly compared to per- 
sons who approach a glowing fire : if cold, they derive warmth ; 
if warm, they derive heat from its intensity. Thus, also, those 
who approach God in prayer depart with a warmth and ardor 
proportioned to their faith and fervor ; the heart is inflamed with 
zeal for the glory of God : the mind is illumined after an admi- 
rable manner ; and the soul is enriched exceedingly with a plen- 
teous effusion of divine grace, as it is written, " Thou hast pre- 
E?ample. " vented him with blessings of sweetness." (2) Of these aston- 
ishing effects of prayer, Moses affords an illustrious example : 
by intercourse and converse with God, Moses shone with the 
reflected splendors of the Divinity, so that the Israelites could 
not look upon his eyes or countenance. (3) 
Note. Those who pray with such fervor enjoy, in an admirable 
manner, the benignity and Majesty of God: " In the morning," 
says the Prophet, " I will stand before thee and will see ; be- 
" cause thou art not a God that wiliest iniquity." (4) The more 
familiar these truths are to the mind, the more piously do we 
venerate, and the more fervently do we worship, God, and the 
more delightfully do we taste, " how sweet is the Lord, and 
" how blessed is the man that hopeth in him." (5) Encircled 
by light from above, then do we also discover our own lowli- 
ness, and how exalted is the majesty of God : " Give me," says 
S. Augustine, " to know thee ; give me to know myself." Dis- 

(2) Ps. xx. 4. (3) Exod. xxxiv. 35. 2 Cor. iii. 13. 

(4) Ps. v. 5. (5) Ps. xxxifi. 9. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 517 

trusting our own strength, we thus throw ourselves unreserv- 
edly upon the goodness of God, not doubting that he, who che- 
rishes us in the bosom of his paternal love, will afford us in 
abundance whatever is necessary to the support of life and the 
attainment of salvation. Thus do our hearts beat with warm- 
est gratitude to God, and our lips, in accents of rapturous de- 
votion, speak his praise; following the example of David, who 
commenced by praying : " Save me from all them that perse- 
" cute me ?" and concluded with these words : " I will give glo- 
" ry to the Lord according to his justice ; and will sing to the 
" name of the Lord the Most High." (6) 

There are extant innumerable prayers of the saints, which The pray- 
breathe the same spirit, beginning with sentiments of reveren- |ain^ the 
tial fear, and ending^with consolatory and joyous hope. This breathe 
spirit, however, is eminently conspicuous in the Psalms of Da- 
vid. Agitated by fear, he says : " Many are they who rise up 
" against me : many say to my soul, there is no salvation for him 
<c in his God ;" but at length, armed with fortitude, and filled 
with holy joy, he adds : " I will not fear thousands of the peo- 
" pie surrounding me." (7) In another Psalm, after he had la- 
mented his misery, reposing confidence in God, and rejoicing 
exceedingly in the hope of salvation, he says : " In peace in 
" the self-same I will sleep, and I will rest." (8) Again, with 
what terror must he not have been agitated when he exclaim- 
ed : " O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise 
" me in thy wrath ;" yet, on the other hand, what confidence 
and joy must not have beamed upon him, when he added : " De- 
" part from me all ye workers of iniquity ; for the Lord hath 
" heard the voice of my weeping." (9) When filled with dread 
of the divine wrath, with what lowliness and humility does he 
not implore the divine assistance : " Save me, O Lord, by thy 
"name, and judge me in thy strength ;" (10) and yet, in the 
same psalm he adds these words of joy and confidence: "Be- 
"hold, God is my help ; and the Lord is the helper of my soul." 
Let him, therefore, who has recourse to holy prayer approach 
God his Father, fortified by faith and animated by hope, not 

(6) Ps. vii. 3— IS. (1) Ps. iii. 3. 7. (8j Ps. iv. 9. 

(9) Ps. vi. 2. 9. (10) Ps. liii. 3. 



518 THE CATECHISM OF 

despairing to obtain, through the divine mercy, those blessings 
of which he stands in need. 
Particular The word " amen," with which the Lord's prayer concludes, 
the a wofd° fcontains > as it: were ) the germs of many of those reasons and 
'amen' in reflections which we have already evolved. Indeed, so frequent 
er, and in was this Hebrew word in the mouth of the Saviour, that it 
the Mass. p i ease( j t ] ie jj ] y Ghost to have it still retained in the Church 
of God. Its meaning may be said to be : " know that thy 
" prayers are heard ;" it is in substance, as if God condescend- 
ed to return an answer to the supplicant, and graciously dis- 
missed him, after having heard his prayers with a propitious 
ear. This interpretation has been approved by the constant 
usage of the Church of God: in the sacrifice of the Mass, 
when the Lord's prayer is said, she does not assign the word 
" amen," to the assistant, who answers, " but deliver us from 
" evil:" she reserves it as appropriate to the Priest himself, 
who, in quality of interpreter between God and man, answers 
" amen," thus intimating that God has heard the prayers of his 
people. This practice, however, is not common to all prayers, 
but is peculiar to the Lord's prayer. In every other instance 
the assistant answers " amen ;" because, in every other, it only 
expresses the acquiescence of the people, and the community 
of their desires and prayers ; in this it is an answer, intimating 
that God has heard the petition of his Supplicant. 
The word By many, the word " amen" is differently interpreted : the 
man^'in^ Septuagint interprets it, " so be it :" others translate it, " veri- 
terpreted " Jy," or " truly :" Aquila renders it, " faithfully." Which of 
y ' these versions we adopt, is a matter of little importance, pro- 
vided we understand it to have the force already mentioned, 
that of the Pastor confirming the concession of what has been 
prayed for ; an interpretation to which the Apostle lends the 
weight of his authority in his Epistle to the Corinthians; 
where he says : " All the promises of God are in him it is ; 
"(11) therefore also by him, amen to God, unto our glory." 
It fixes at- To us also this word is very appropriate, containing, as it 
enhvens & ^ oes ' some confirmation of the petitions which we have al- 
hope. 

(11) 2 Cor. i. 20. h avru to vcu, in ipso, silicet Christo, sunt est, that is to 
say, are ratified in Christ.— T. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 519 

ready presented at the throne of God, and fixing our attention 
when engaged in holy prayer ; for it not infrequently hap- 
pens that, in prayer, a variety of distracting thoughts di- 
vert the mind to other objects. Nay, more, by this word 
we most earnestly beg of God that all our preceding peti- 
tions may be granted, or rather, understanding that they have 
been all granted, and feeling the divine assistance powerfully 
present with us, we cry out in the inspired words of the Pro-* 
phet : " Behold God is my helper ; and the Lord is the pro- 
jection of my soul;" (12) nor can we for a moment doubt, 
that God is moved by the name of his Son, and by a word so 
often uttered by the divine lips of him, cc who," as the Apos- 
tle says, "was always heard for his reverence." (13.) 

(12) Ps. liii. 6. (13) Heb. v. 



THE END. 



PRAXIS CATECHISMI, 



CATECHISMUS 



SINGULAS ANNI DOMINICAS DISTRIBUTUS, ET EVANGELIIS 
ACCOMMODATUS. 



DOMINICA PRIMA ADVENTUS. 



Erunt signa in Sole, et Luna, &c. Luc. xxi. 25, &c] — Hoc Evangelium ad argu- 
mentum de judicio generali traducendum est. Quare hie recurrat Parochus ad articu- 
lum Symboli. " Inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos," p. 77, et seq. prout. 
faciendum praecipitur, p. 18, vel secundum aliarum Ecclesiarum ritum. 

Ecce rex tuus venit tibi, &c. Matt. xxi. 5, &c] — Hie opportune tractabit para- 
chus ea, quae de Incarnatione, et causis adventus Christi Domini nostri habenturart. 2. 
et 3. Symboli Apostolici, p. 45. 

Invenietis asinam alligatam, et pullam cum ea; solvite, &c] — D. Athanasius in 
sermone de verbis hujus Evangelii ostendit ex hoc loco Apostolis et eorum successori- 
bus factam esse potestatem solvendi eos qui, instar asinorum peccatorum pondere pres- 
si, ad eos confugerent. Quare hie populo exponet Parochus qua habentur de confes- 
sione, p. 252, et seq. et absolutione, p. 241, etde potestate remittendi peccata in Ec- 
clesia, p. 107, et seq. 

DOMINICA SECUNDA. 

Cum audisset Joannes in vinculis, &c. Tu es qui venturus es, &c. Matth. xi. 2, 
&c] — Ista Joannis interrogatio tam sedula, ostendit quanto cum studio curare debea- 
mus, ut de rebus fidei, et nos, et ii, qui nobis subsunt, rite, et a Catholicis doctoribus in- 
struamur. Vide qure huic argumento inservient initio Catechismi, usque ad primum 
Symboli articulum. 

In vinculh.]— Fides usque ad vincula, immo adnecem usque, cum opus est, et a judice 
urgemur, profitenda est : nee est satis earn pectore inclusam habere, quantumvis rec- 
tam et sinceram, ut ostenditur, p. 25, et seq. vel " Erunt signa in Sole et Luna," &c. 
ut Dominica prascedenti. 

DOMINICA TERTIA. 

Confessus est et non negavit, Joan. i. 20, &c] — Ex hoc loco simpliciter verum 
fateri docemur, nee intermiscere jusjurandum, ut nobis fides adhibeatur. Vide quanto, 
et sub quibus peenis jurare prohibitum, in 2. praecepto, p. 340, et seq. 



PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 521 

Quid ergo baptizas, si tu non es Christus, &c] — Agendum hie de ministris bap- 
tism!, de quo, p. 158, et seq. et quomodo sese habeant in dispensatione Sacramentorum 
Christus Dominus et minister, quantum ad effectum Sacramenti, p. 142, etseq. 

Cujus ego non sum dignus, &c.] — Hie monere parochus populum sibi creditum debet 
ut se pro festis natalitiis ad sacram synaxim praeparet, et agere de condigna tanti hos- 
pitis (cujus corrigiam calceamenti solvere indignum se Joannes Baptista censet) suscep- 
tione, vide de prseparatione ad Eucharistiam, p. 222, Vel " Cum audisset Joannes in 
" vinculis, ut in Dominica prsecedenti." 

DOMINICA QUARTA. 

Anno quintodecimo imperii Tiberii C^saris, &c. Luc. hi. 1.] — Cur hie principum 
mundi fiat mentio, eadem ratio afferri potest, quae affertur in articulo 4. Symboli de 
eodem Pontio Pilato. 

Factum est verbum Domini super Joannem, &c] — Quoniam Joannes non nisi a Deo 
legitime vocatus officium verbi Dei predicandi exercuit : ideo hie de legitima. vocatione 
ministrorum Ecclesiae parochus disseret, ut habetur de sacram. Ordinis, p. 283, et 
seq. legitimosque eos ministros non esse dicat, qui missi non sunt, ut traditur in pree- 
fatione. 

In Deserto.] — Hie de probitate et morum integritate ministrorum verbi (qui sunt sacef^ 
dotes) agatur ex eodem loco 283, et seq. et de castitate, quae els, quando fiunt subdia- 
coni, indicitur, ut hab. ibidem. 

Pr^dicans Baptismum pcenitentle.J — Quomodo adulti, qui baptismum suscipere de- 
bent, affecti esse debeant, et praeteritas eos vitas pcenitere, traditur, p. 166^ et seq. 

Parate viam Domini, rectas facite semitas Dei nostri.] — Hie de praeparatione ad 
Eucharistiam, de qua in superiori Dominica, et de necessaria mandatorum Dei obser- 
vantia, de qua, p. 316, et seq. vel. " et confessus est, et non negavit," utin Dominica 
praecedenti. 

IN DIE NATIVITATIS DOMINI. 

Peperit primogenitum filium suum, &c. Luc. ii. 7, &c.] — Explieetur articuhis Symbo^ 
li. Natus ex Maria Virgine. Qui est hujus loci maxime proprius, de quo, p. 45, et 
seqq. Eodem die ad Missam majorem. 

In principio erat verbum, et verbum erat, &c. Joan i. 1, &c.]— Quoniam hie locus 
dum agitur de aeterna Christi Domini generatione adducitur, p. 42, hinc parochus petet 
hujus loci expositionem. 

Et verbum caro factum est.]-— Hie exponatur mysterium Incarnationis prout habe- 
tur, p. 43, et seq. 

Gloriam quasi unigeniti a patre.] — Quomodo hie unigenitus sit etiam frater nosterj 
vide p. 450. 

DOMINICA INFRA OCTAVAM NATIVITATIS. 

Et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius, &c. Luc. ii. 35, &c] — Ex hac Simeonis 
praedictione ansam sumere poterit parochus explicandi, cur Deusfideles jam baptizatos, 
quos filios habet carissimos, noneximat ab incommodis vitse hujus, qua de re agitur, p. 
170, et 171, et quo confugiendum tunc sit, de quo p. 425, et seq. 

Non recedebat a templo jejuniis et orationibus, &c] — De privata et publica ora~ 
tione habes, p. 441. Quomodo ad orationem, et jejunium et eleemosyna jungenda 
sint, p. 443, et quomodo ista tria conducant ad satisiactionem peccatorum, p. 443, et 
271. 

66 



522 PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 

IN CIRCUMCISIONE DOMINI. 

Et postquam consummati sunt dies octo, ut circumcideretur puer, &c. Luc. ii. 
21, &c] — Quoniam circumcisioni successit Baptismus, hie ingenere dici poteritde vi, 
et efficientia Sacramentorum novae legis supra antiquae legis Sacramenta, ut habetur, 
p. 146. 

Vocatum est nomen ejus Jesus, &c] — Quam convenienter hoc nomen inditum fuerit 
Christo Domino, et quare, vide pag. 39. 

Observandum hie etiamestpuerisnuncinbaptismo, etolimin circumcisione nomen esse 
imponendum : cujus rei quoenam sit ratio, et quale nomen puero imponi debeat, habes, 
p. 180. Denique cum impositio nominis sit una ex ceraemoniis in baptismo usitatis, 
hide baptismi ceramoniis et ritibus apta concio haberi poterit, p. 176, et seq. 

IN DIE EPIPHANLE. 

Vidimus enim stellam ejus in Oriente, &c. Matth. ii. 2. &c] — Quoniam non 
inepte per hanc stellam philosophica de Deo scientia potest intelligi, sicut per respon- 
sum sacerdotum fidei lumen, non male hie adaptari poterunt quae de differentia sapi- 
enti33 Christianae a Philosophica notitia habentur, p. 25. 

Et procidentes adoraverunt eum, &c. Matth. ii. 11, &c.] — Hie de adoratione Dei, 
quae Latria dicitur, et simul de veneratione Sanctorum, quae Dulia nominatur. Vide 
in expositione Decalogi pagina 316, et 328, usque ad secundum praeceptum. Hie agi 
etiam potest de Eucharistiae veneratione et adoratione. Nam si eundem Christum, 
quem Magi adoraverunt praesentem in Eucharistia agnoscimus, et confitemur ; ut di- 
sertis verbis probatur, p. 211, et seq. si pii esse volumus, cur non aeque ac Magi eum 
adorabimus? Vide p. 193, et seq. 

DOMINICA INFRA OCTAVAM EPIPHANLE. 

Secundum consuetudinem nupti.e tactje sunt, Luc. ii. 42, &c.] — De observatione 

dierum festorum, lege, p. 352, et seqq. 
Et erat subditus illis, &c] — De officio liberorum erga parentes, vide'p. 362, etseq. 

DOMINICA SECUNDA POST EPIPHANIAM. 

Nuptije factjE sunt in Cana Galilje.s:, &c. Joan, ii. I, &c] — De Sacramento Ma- 
trimonii, vide p. 300, et seq. 

Hoc fecit Jesus initium signorum suorum.] — Haec conversio aquae in vinum valet 
plurimum ad confirmandos rudiores in fide Transubstantiationis, quae fit in augustis- 
simo Altaris Sacramento : de qua vide p. 213, et seq. 

DOMINICA TERTIA. 

Ecce Leprosus veniens aDORAbat eum, Matth. viii. 2, 3, &c.] — Per lepram haere- 
sim significari dicunt Patres. Qui vero sunt censendi haeretici, et qui a castris Eccle- 
sise, ut olim leprosi ejicendi, habetur, p. 90, et seq. 

Vade, ostende te Sacerdoti.] — De honore Sacerdotibus Domini, et Ecclesise praefec- 
tis exhibendo, vide p. 368. 

Vade, ostende te Sacerdoti, &c.]— Longe excellentiorem virtutem nostris Sacerdo- 
tibus tributam docet Chrysostomus lib. 3, de Sacerd. quam Mosaicis, quod illi oblatoa 
sibi leprosos non mundarent ; sed mundatos tantum esse declararent ; nostri vero ho- 
mincm peccati lepra maculatum,Jdum absolutionis beneficium rite praeparato impen- 



PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 523 

dunt, vere eraundant, et perfectae sanitati restituunt. Hie de potestate clavium Sacer- 
dotibus concessa, uthabetur, p. 107, et sequentibus. 

DOMINICA QUARTA. 

Ascendente Jesu in naviculam, Matth. viii. 23.] — Inter multa, qua? Ecclesiara re- 
praesentant, estnavicula ilia seu area Noe, de qua, p. 96. Hie ergo de Ecclesia Ca- 
tholica, et notis, quibus internoscitur, parochus agere poterit : prout habetur, p. 95, seqq. 

Domine Salva nos, perimus.] — Quoniam nullum est tempus, in quo ita hominum vita, 
quam in propinquo anima? exitu, periclitetur ; ideo parochus ex hoc loco hortari poterit 
suos subditos ut cum mortis dies instabit, ad Deum maxime recurrant, et extremse unc- 
tionis Sacramentum accipiant, de quo, p. 274, et sequentibus. 

Qualis est hic, quia venti et mare obediunt ei?] — Quomodo creaturae omnes eum, 
quem a Deo ab initio acceperunt, cursum teneant homine dempto, vide paginam 468. 

DOMINICA QUINTA. 

Et inimicus homo stjperseminavit zizania, &c. Matth. xiii. 25, &c.] — In Ecclesia duo 

sunt hominum genera, boni, qui tritici nomine designantur ; improbi nomine zizanio- 
rum, vide p. 93. Vel per zizania intelliguntur odia, atqiie rixa?, quas pater dissentionis 

Diabolus seminare conatur in agro filiorum pacis, cujus morbi remedium habes, p. 376 

et 382. 
Inimicus homo hoc fecit.] — De odio da?monum in nos, et ad tentandum audacia et per- 

versitate, vide p. 499 ; et ut omnis mali culpa? auctor, mali vero paenaesit exactor, vide 

p. 513. 

DOMINICA SEXTA. 

Simile est regnum ccelorum grano sinapis, Matth. xiii. 31, &c] — Quoniam juxta 
Doctores per granum sinapis fides intelligitur ; hic tractanda sunt, qua? de ejus necessi- 
tate habentur, p. 27, et quomodo servanda sint ea qua? fide credenda proponuntur, p. 
30 et 31, et ejus excellentia et quantum differat Christiana de Deo sapientiaet philoso- 
phica divinarum rerum notitia, p. 25. 

Cum autem creverit.] — Fidem augeri posse traditur, p. 439. 

Iterum simile est regnum ccelorum fermento, quod acceptum mulier.] — Hancmu- 
lierem Ecclesiam interpretantur, qua? in doctrina fidei aut morum (per fermentum de- 
signata) errare non posse traditur, p. 100. 

Donec fermentatum est totum.] — Hicde communione Sanctorum, et meritorum par- 
ticipatione explicari possunt, quas, sunt, p. 102, et sequentibus. 

DOMINICA IN SEPTUAG. 

Simile est regnum ccelorum homini Patrifamilias, Matth. xx. 1, &c] — Hic pater- 
familias est Deus, qui cur pater dicatur, habes, p. 28, et 29, 444. 

Receperunt ipsi singulos denarios.] — Denarii nomine ccelestis beatitudo designator, 
quam hic paterfamilias alacriter et sincere in vinea sua, id est, in cultura mandatorum 
divinorum laborantibus pra?stat. De hoc vita? a?terna3 denario lege qua? diffuse tra- 
duntur, p. 122, et sequentibus, et 321,458, etseqq. Hujus vero beatitudinis conse- 
quendas certam viam, ac rationem habes, p. 46 1 , et seq. Item, exhortatio ad colen- 
dam hanc vineam mandatorum illustris habetur, p. 317, 318, etseq. 

Singulos denarios, &c] — In coelo tamen varietas est mercedis, et glorite, pro ratione 
laboris et affectus, quo quis operatur, pag. 116, et 125. 



524 PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 

DOMINICA IN SEXAG. 

Exiit qui seminat seminare semen suum, &c. Luc. viii. 5, &c.]— Semen hoc in ter- 
rain sparsum est verbum Dei, exponente Domino, dequo, vide p. 484, etquomodosit 
audiendum, vide prsefat. 

Venit Diabolus, &c.]— De dsemonis conatu, et impugnatione habes, p. 502, et seqq. 

Et a sollicitudinibus et divitiis, &c] — Quantum divitiae et effroanes rerum tempo- 
ralium cupiditates impediant hujus divini seminis fructum habes, p. 468, et seq. 

DOMINICA IN QUINQUAG. 

Tradetur enim Gentibus, et illudetur, Luc. xviii. 32, &c.]— Ut Christi milites 
ejus crucem tamquam vexillum sui ducis contuentes, ad arma paenitentiae sumenda 
exstimulentur, ideo hoc Evangelium ineunte quadragesima legitur, quod passionis Do- 
minic33 summam complectitur, quo loco non importune parochus exponet, quae de Pas- 
sione Domini fuse traduntur, p. 52, et seqq. Vel si in aliud tempus commodius dif- 
ferre malit hoc argumentum ; hodie alteram Evangelii partem pertractabit, ut sequitur. 

Ccecus quidam sedebat secus viam.] — Hie coecus genus humanum denotabat, decujus 
post peccatum statu misero, vide p. 468. 

Jesu pili David, miserere mei.] — Hie quomodo Deum aliter oremus ac Sanctos ex 
hac formula demonstrabis, ut habes, p. 436. Porro si angustiis, aut tribulationibus 
premimur, aut re aliqua indigemus, ad Dominum cum hoc caeco nobis recurrendum 
est, precibusque sollicitandus Deus, ut nobis adsit. Vide de necessitate et utilitate 
orationis, p. 424, et 425. 

Quid tibi vis faciam.] — Hie causas, ob quas clementissimus Deus vult a nobis rogari, 
etiam si sciat quibus rebus indigeamus, ex pag. 424, et 426, proferes. 

FERIA IV. CINERUM. 

Cum autem Jejunatis, &c. Matth. vi. 16, &c] — Cum quadragesimaB jejunium eo 
nomine sit institutum, ut totius anni peccata hac quasi solemni mulcta. redimeremus, 
hodie parochus excitare fidelem populum debebit ad pcenitentiam amplectendam, de 
cujus necessitate scribit, p. 106, et 240, docere quibus gradibus ad poenitentiam licet 
ascendere, pag. 238, et quibus operum generibus pro peccatis satisfacere possimus, p. 
271, et seq. 

Nolite thesaurizare vobis thesauros in terra.] — Vide adversus eos qui opes con- 
gerere undequaque studeant, p. 390, 393, et seq. 

Thesaurizate vobis thesauros in C(elo.]— Quoniam parochi frequenter fidelem popu- 
lu ad eleemosinas pauperibus erogandas excitare debent : hie hoc studiose proestabunt 
ex his quae habentur, p. 421, et 497. 

DOMINICA PRIMA QUADRAGESIMA. 
Ut tentaretur a Diabolo, &c. Matth. iv. 11, &.c.] — Cum sit tentatio vita homi- 

nis super terram, ut dicit Job, vii. hie de tentatione agendum, de generibus tentatio- 

nurn, ad quid permittantur homines tentari, quibus armis tentationibus resistendum, et 

caatera hujusmodi, quae habentur, p. 501, etseq. 
Non in solo pane vivit homo.]— De pane spiritali de quo hie agit Christus Dominus, 

vide p. 484, et seq. 
Angelis suis Deus mandavit, &c.]—De Angelorum custodia erga homines, p. 445. 
Dominum Deum tuum adorabis.]-— De adoratione Dei quae fide, spe et charitate, per* 

ficitur, vide p. 326. 



PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 525 

DOMINICA SECUNDA QUADRAGESIMA. 

Assumpsit Jesus Petrum, et Jacobum, et Joannem, et deduxit eos, &c. Matth. 

xvii. 1, &c] — Hie afferri possunt ea, quae de loco et tempore, quo homines ad divina 

contemplanda aptiores sunt, habentur, p. 324. 
Bonum est nos hic esse.] — Hie tractari possunt, quae de svimma eorum dignitate, qui 

Deo obediunt, habentur, p. 476. Vel de intimis hominum sanctorum guadiis, p. 485. 

Poterunt etiam Parochi de duodecimo articulo hic habere sermonem, de quo, p. 122. 
Hie est filius meus dilectus, &c.]— Hic de asterna filii generatione latissimus sese 

offert dicendi campus, de qua, p. 42, et seq. vel secundum aliarum Ecclesiarum ritum. 
Miserere mei fili David, Matth. xv. 22, &c.]— Hic typum habes perfecta? oratio- 

onis quantum spectat ad duas conditiones, quas in oratione maxime desiderantur, fidera 

videlicet, et perse verantiam, de quibus, p. 439, et seq. 
Filia mea male torquetur a DiEMONio, &c.]— Hujus mulieris exemplo Parentes mo- 

nentur diligentem liberorum curam gerere ; de qua, p. 372. 
Dimitte eam, quia clamat post nos, &c.]— Si Apostoli in hac vita degentes, adhuc pro 

se soliciti pro Chananea interpellant, et exaudiuntur, et in caslo mutire non audebunt, 

inquit D. Hieron, contra Vigilantium. Hic de intercessione Sanctorum, prout habe- 

turp. 328. 

DOMINICA TERTIA. 
Et erat Jesus ejiciens D^emonium, et illud erat mutum, Luc. xi. 14., &c] — Dae- 

monis proprium est eum, quem possidet, reddere mutum, id est, a confessione peccati 

revocare. Sed tamen non est alia ratio ejiciendi Daemonis, quam ut linguam solvas 

ad detegendum coram Sacerdote peccatum, vide quse de Confessione habentur, p. 252, 

et seq. 
Omne regnum in seipsum divisum desolabitur.] — Ecclesia est Christi regnum, ut ha- 

betur, p. 462 et 463. Id autem, ut in seipsum non sit divisum, unum esse necesse est, 

unde hic de unitate Ecclesiae agendum est, ex pag. 95, et seq. 
Revertar in domum meam.] — De relabentium in peccati gravitatem, p. 58. Et quid 

post confessionem agendum, p. 273 et seq. 
Tunc assumit alios septem spiritus nequiores se.] — Hic locus p. 500, inducitur ad 

probandum non unum tantum dcemonem, sed plures etiam interdum hominem tentare ; 

patet autem ex hoc loco dsemonem acrius eos tentare, qui ab eo defecerunt, ut est p, 

501, etseq. 
Beatus venter qui te portavit.] — Glorificatione B. Mariae Virginis hoc Evangelium 

concluditur ; de qua habes, p. 47, 48, 435. 

DOMINICA QUARTA. 
Unde ememus panes, ut et manducent hi? &c. Joan., vi. 5, &c.]— Hic apte expli- 

cari poterit ilia petitio Dominica? orationis ; " Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis," 

p. 477, et seq. 
Notandum prceterea quod panis iste vim etiam habebat sedandi sitim, ut tenent doctores. 

Ita et panis Eucharistiae laicis pro calice est. Lege de Communione sub una specie, 

p. 227 et 228. 
Hoc autem dicebat tentans eum.] — Quomodo Deus hominem tentet, vide p. 503, ct 

eeq. 
Distribuit discumbentibus.] — Cliristus non distribuit, sed dedit Apostolis. et illi distri- 

buerunt turbae, Matth. xiv. 19. Sic a mundi initio per Patriarchas et Prophetas, et 



526 PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 

postea per Apostolos eorumque successores Deus verbum Dei et sacramenta subminis- 
trat; ut habetur p. 13, 14, et 142. Christus tamen est qui haec omnia prascipue efficit, 
p. 142. 
Hie est vere Propheta.] — De gratiarum actione, p. 435. 

DOMINICA PASSIONIS. 

Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato ? Joan, viii. 46, &c] — Innocentia Christi in 
hodierno Evangelio convenienter profertur in medium, ut in promtu sit nobis causa 
Dominicas Passionis quam hodie representare incipit Ecclesia, nimirum non propria il- 
lius delicta, sed nostra. Decausis Passionis Christi habes, p. 57 et 58. 

Si veritatem dico vobis.] — Mendacio cavere docemur de quo multa, p. 403, et seq. 

Qui ex Deo est, verba Dei audit, &c.]~ De verbo Dei audiendo, p. 16, et seq. et 
484. 

Nonne bene dicimus nos quia Samaritanus, &c] — Ex hoc loco Parochus ansam po- 
tent arripere ad excitandos suos Fideles ad injurias condonandas, qua de re multa ha- 
bentur, p. 486, et seq. 

Sed honorifico Patrem et vos inhonorastis me.] — Christus saepe, et a multis gra- 
viter inhonoratur, sed ab iis maxime qui ejus verbum vel male interpretando, vel ad 
vana convertendo polluunt. de quo, p. 359. 

Tulerunt ergo lapides, ut jacerent in eum.]— Ex hoc loco perspici potest, ettem- 
pus et genus mortis a Christo delectum fuisse, qua de re, p. 53, et seq. 

DOMINICA IN RAMIS PALMARUM. 

Evangelium ut in prima Dominica Adventus, de quo ibid. Coeterum quoniam ad Eucha- 
ristiam percipiendam ex praccepto Ecclesiae eo tempore omnes discretione praediti obli- 
gantur, ideo ex his Evangelii verbis " Ecce Rex tuus venit tibi mansuetus," ad ejus 
sumptionem Fideles hortari poterit parochus ex his qua habentur, p. 195, 196, 221, et 
deinceps ; et quoniam parentes utplurimum negligentissimi sunt ad liberos suos ad Eu- 
charistias perceptionem praesentandos, ideo eis maxime Parochus inculcabit, quae de 
cetate ad quam pueri ad earn percipiendam tenentur, et habentur, p. 227. 

In die sancto Paraceves.] — Hoc die quoniam solemnis de mysterio Passionis Domini 
nostri Jesu Christi concio haberi solet ; ideo praeterea, quae in expositione art. 4. Sym- 
boli habentur, p. 52 et seq. hose insuper hoc die tractari posse videntur. De singulari 
amore, quo Deus genus humanum prosecutus est, cum illud morte unigeniti filii sui re- 
dimere voluerit, de quo, p. 447. De primi parentis lapsu et miseriis, quae ilium conse- 
cutee sunt, de quibus, p. 37, 468, et seq. quomodo ex passione Christi omnis remissio 
peccatorum emanarit, de quo, p. 109, et 492, et proinde omnia Sacramenta ex hac 
Christi passione virtutem acceperunt, ut est, p. 146. De sacrificio Christi tam cruento 
quam incruento ex p. 232. De satisfactione et merito Christi, de quo, p. 271. Deni- 
que quomodo nulli unquam patuit, sed nee patere quidem potest aditus ad regnum 
caelorum sine hac de redemptionis humanae per Christum fide, ut est, p. 37, idque esse 
summam et cardinem totius Christianae religionis, scire Jesum Christum, et hunc cru- 
cifixum, ur/habetur, p. 16. 

DOMINICA PASCELE. 
SuIirexit, non est hic, &c. Marc. xvi. 6, &c] — De resurrectione Domini expone- 
tur artic. Symholi Apostolici, " Tertia die resurrexit a mortuis," p. 61. 



PRAXIS CATECHISM! 527 

FERIA SECUNDA POST PASCHA. 
Et duo ex discipulis jestt ibant ipsa die in castellum, xxiv. 13, &c.]— Quoniam 

fieri vix potuit ut Parochus omnia, quse ad resurrectionem Christipertinent pridie ex- 

plicuerit, ideo hoc die poterit ea quae praetermisit, ex eo loco repetere.' 
Oportuit pati Christum, et ita intrare in gloriam suam.] — Hie locus est propri- 

us causas exponendi ob quas necesse fuit Christum resurgere, quae habentur, p. 68, et 

exemplo Christi fideles hortandi ut omni studio incumbant ut caslesli regno potiantur ; 

quod habetur, p. 458, et de commodis tribulationis, p. 506, et seq. 
Et factum est dum recumberet cum iis, accepit panem.]— Hie locus proprius est 

ad probandum utramque Eucharistias speciem laicis necessario non exhibendam, de quo 

multa, p. 227, et seq. 

FERIA TERTIA POST PASCHA. 

Stetit Jesus in medio discipulorum suorum, Luc. xxiv. 36, &c] — Hie de quatuor 
dotibus corporis gloriosi agi potest, ut habetur, p. 119, et seq. 

Pax vobis.] — Quoniam regnum Dei, teste Apostolo, pax est et gaudium in SpirituSanc- 
to : Hie quale sit regnum Christi in pios tractari potest, ut habetur, p. 463. 

Pr^dicare in nomine ejus f^nitentiam et remissionem peccatorcm.] — Quomodo 
pamitentias praedicatio a. Christo Apostolis injuncta sit ex hoc ipso ioco probatur, p. 106. 
Unde potes tam expositione articuli de remissione peccatorum, quam ex his quas de Sa- 
cramento paenitentiee hie habentur, longissimam habere concionem. 

DOMINICA PRIMA POST PASCHA. 

Cum sero esset die illa, una sabbatorum, Joan. xx. 19, &c.] — Christi resurrectio 
nostra? est resurrectionis exemplar, quam maxime stabilire necesse fuit, ut pariter nos- 
tra stabiliretur quibus autem turn Scripturis, turn rationibus nostra stabiliatur resurrec- 
tio, vide p. 69, 113, et seq. " Una sabbatorum" autem quid sit vide, p. 354. 

Quorum remiseritis peccata, Joan. xx. 23, &c.]— De potestate clavium sacerdoti- 
bus concessa, p. 107, et seq. et 466. 

Mitte digitum tuum in loco cLAVORUM, &c] — Qualia futura sunt corpora post re- 
surrectionem, et cur Christus et martyres cicatrices retinebunt, habes, p. 117, et seq. 

DOMINICA SECUNDA POST PASCHA. 

Ego sum Pastor bonus, x. 11, &c] — Pastorum nomine comprehenduntur non solum 
Episcopi et animarum rectores, sed etiam Reges, Magistratus, Parentes, et Magistri. 
Quid vero Pastores ejusmodi ovibus debeant, et quid vicissim oves Pastoribus, habes p , 
365, et seq. 

Mercenarius autem, et qui non est Pastor.] — Quis sit iste mercenarius et non pas- 
tor, vide p. 283, et seq. 

Et fiet unum ovile et unus Pastor.] — Hie de unitate Ecclesia?, de qua p. 95, et 
seq. Unoqe universali Ecclesias Pastore D. Petro, et D. Petri successore Rom. Ponti- 
fice, de quo p. 95, et seq. et 296. 

DOMINICA TERTIA POST PASCHA. 

Modicum, et non videbitis me, Joan. xvi. 16, &c] — Efficax consolationis genus, dum 
temporarius maeror pro Christo susceptus, seternis guadiis compensatur. Vide quae de 
vita seterna habentur, p. 122, et seq. 



528 PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 

Vos vero contristabimini, mundus autem gaudebit.]— Quare perversi minus, pii vero 

acrius, a daemonibus infestentur, et proinde illi guadeant, isti vero tristentur, vide p. 

501. 
Tristitia vestra vertetur in guadium, &c] — Spe faturorum bonorum quomodo ala- 

cri et constanti animo adversa omnia toJerare debeamus, vide p. 121, et seq. et cur 

Deus sinat aflligi bonos, p. 504, et seq. 

DOMINICA QUARTA. 
Si enim non abiero, Paraclitus non veniet, Joan. xvi. 7, &c.]— De Spiritu Sanc- 

to, deque admirandis ejns effeclibus, et donishabes, p. 83, 84, et seq. 
Arguet mundum de peccato, &c.]— Spiritus Sancti proprium munus est, corda et 

compunctionem movere, et peccantem intrinsecus arguere. Quae autem contritio vera 

sit, quasque res ea habere debeat, p. 242, et seq. Huic etiam referri possunt ea quae, 

de peccatis quae remitti non possunt, habentur, p. 243. 

DOMINICA QUINTA. 

Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, Joan. xvi. 23, &c] — De oratione, et ejus 
adjunctis hie proprius est dicendi locus, de qua, p. 423, et seq. 

Usque modo non petistis quidquam, &c] — Hie proprie de modo quo Deum per Chris- 
tum orare debemus, de quo, p. 439, et seq. Hie etiam locus, p. 442, adduciturad pro- 
bandum in nomine Christi orandum esse. 

IN FESTO ASCENSIONIS DOMINI. 

ASSUMTUS EST IN C^LUM, ET SEDET A DEXTRIS DEI, MaRC. Xvi. 19, &C.] — HoC in loCO 

artic. Symb. Apostolici qui de Ascensione est, explicabitur, ut habetur, p. 71, et seq. 

DOMINICA POST ASCENS. 
Cum autem venerit Paraclitus, qui a patre procedit, Joan. xv. 26, &c] — Hie 

de processione Spiritus Sancti a Patre et Filio, ex p. 87, et seq. 
Ut omnis qui vos interficit, Joan. xvi. 2, &c] — Hie praeceptum Decalogi "Non 

"occides," exponi poterit, de quo, p. 373, et seq. 
Arbitretur se obsequium, &c] — De omnibus adversis et calamitatibus hujus vitae 

idem judicandum est quod he his, quae Christi causa patimur, nempe eas esse magnum 

Dei in nos benevolentiae signum, ut habetur, p. 449. 

IN FESTO PENTECOST. 

Si quis diligit me sermonem meum servabit, Joan. xiv. 23, &c] — Spiritus Sanc- 
tus ideo credentibus datur, ut sermonem Dei qui Decalogo comprehenditur, servare 
possint, ad quam rem, ut promptiores sint, adferat parochus quae habentur initio expli- 
cationis Decalogi, p. 316, et seq. vel quoniam, p. 320, hie locus adducitur ad proban- 
dum Dei mandata non esse impossibilia, ideo de hac re aget ex p. 319. 

Vel hodie exponet quae traduntur de Confirmationis Sacramento, p. 181, et seq. Quan- 
doquidem tali die Apostolos a Spiritu Sancto confirmatos fuisse docent Patres. 

FERIA SECUNDA POST PENTECOSTEN. 
Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret, Joan, iii. 16.] 
— Hie locus proprius est ad ea populo exponenda, quae de eximia charitate caelestis Pa- 
tris in genus humanum, in creatione, et gubernatione demonstrata ; sed multo magis 
in Redemptione habentur, p. 448, et sequent. 



PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 529 

Ut omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat.]— Hie quoraodo fides in Christum omni- 
bus hominibus ab omni sevo necessaria fuerit, docendum est ex, p. 37, et seq. 

Qui credit in eum, non judicatur.] — De verbo " credere" habes, p. 24, quae hie ac- 
commc-dare poteris : ex qua etiam dicendi forma Filium Dei vere Deum esse demon- 
strabis, ex p. 84. 

Qui non credit in nomine unigeniti Filii.] — Quomodo Dei Alius sit unigenitus po- 
teris declarare ex his, quae habentur, p. 37, et contra qua ratione hie unigenitus fra- 
tres habeat, p. 450 et 451. 

FERIA TERTIA POST PENTECOSTEN. 
Qui non intrat per ostium in ovile ovium, Joan, x. 1, &c] — Hie locus proprius 

est ad ea explieanda, quae de legitima ordinatione ministrorum ecclesiae habentur, p. 

283, etseq. de legitimo ministro Sacramenti ordinis, pag. 297. 
Et oves vocem ejus audiunt.] — De obedientia et honore, qui debetur Episeopis et sa- 

cerdotibus agitur, p. 368, et seq. 
Alienum autem non seo.uuntur.] — Haereticorum ministrosnon esse sequendos, vide 

p. 13, et 14, qui autem eos sequuntur, non ovessed haedi sunt, p. 503. 

IN FESTO SANCTISS. TRINITATIS. 

Data est mihi potestas in c^elo et in terra, Matth., xxviii. 18, &c.] — Hie ex- 
plieanda sunt quae de regno Christi in pios, et ratione qua. regnat in suis Fidelibus, ha- 
bentur, p. 462, etseq. de regno etiam gloriae ejusdem, pag. 463, itemde potestate ipsius 
in Sacramentis tam instituendis quam conferendis, pag. 142, et de potestate item cla- 
vium ejusdem, qua remittuntur peccata, p. 107, et seq. 

Baptizantes eos.] — Hie locus adducitur ad probandum, quo tempore baptismus obli- 
gare caeperit, p. 156, et ideo necessitate ejusdem, et praesertim in infantibus ea proferri 
possunt quae habentur, pag. 162, et deinceps. 

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti.] — Hie de materia et forma baptismi, 
quae sunt, p. 151, 153, etseq. accurate agendum est. Hie etiam de Sanctissimae et 
glorissimae Trinitatis mysterio poterunt agere Parochi,de quo p. 29, etseq. Docebunt 
autem praesertim vulgus imperitum Sanctissimam Trinitatem pingi et formari non pos- 
se, atque adeo si quando pingatur, illam picturam proprietates quasdam illius expri- 
mere, ut habetur, p. 333, et seq. 

Docentes eos servare qu.ecunq.ue mandavi.] — Hie de necessitate, et possibilitate 
servandae legis divince proferuntur, quae habentur, p. 319, et seq. 

IN EADEM DOMINICA. 
Estote ergo misericordes sicut et pater vester cozlestis, &c. Luc. vi > °"'" lc, j 

— Dehoc Evangelio in Dominica, 4. juxta aliarum Ecclesiarum morem. 
Date et dabitur vobis.] — Hie de communicandis cum proximis hujus vitae subsidiis 

produci possunt quae habentur, p. 483, et seq. vel de eleemosynis, p. 438, et 443. 
Htpocrita! ejice primum trabem.] — De hypocritis quorum orationes Dominus rejicit, 

habes, p. 442. Item secundum aliquos. 
Nisi quis renatus fuerit, &c. Joan, iii. 3, &c] — Hie de necessitate baptismi, qui in 

nomine Sanctissimae Trinitatis confertur, de ejus effectibus, et in universum quicquid 

de eo habetur, p. 148, et sequent, explicabit. 

IN FESTO CORPORIS CHRISTI. 
Caro enim mea vere est cibus, &c. Joan vi. 56, &c.}— De Eucharistiae Sacramen- 
to, pag. 193, et sequent. 
67 



530 PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 

DOMINICA SECUNDA POST PENTECOSTEN, 

Quae est infra Octavam Corporis Christi. 

Homo quidam fecit cosnam magnam, &c. Luc. xvi. 1, &c] — Coen83 nomine, quae 
sub finem dici sumitur, coelestis gloria nobis significatur, quam hie paterfamilias in ipsa 
vitae clausula beatis donabit. In hoc argumentum, vide quae ponantur, p. 123, et seq. 
Vel ccenae nomine cum Paulo, 1 Cor. ii. intelligitur Sacrosanctum Christi corpus in Sa- 
cramento altaris : de quo vide, ut supra, p. 193, et seq. 

Et C^eperunt omnes simul excusare.]— Quoniam omnes hse excusationes ex mala con- 
cupiscentia proveniunt, ideo hie adversus concupiscentias pravas agendum erit, ex p. 
414, et seq. Simulque miseria nostra ob oculos ponenda, qui ea respuimus, quae salu- 
taria nobis sunt, rebus autem perniciosis nos addicimus, ut hi fecerunt, p. 463, et seq. 

Villam emi.] — Vide in superbos, et ambitiosos, qui per hunc designantur, quae haben- 
tur, p. 400, et seq. 

Juga boum emi quinque.] —Vide in avaros, p. 418, et seq. 

Uxorem duxi.] —Hie detestanda libido, et commendanda continentia et castitas, quae adi- 
tum nobis ad caelorum regnum facilem prsebet, vide p. 385, et seq. Vel secundum alios. 

Homo quidam erat dives qui induebatur, &c. Luc. xvi. 1, &c] — De varietate in 
vestibus fugienda, vide quae habentur, p. 383, et 389. Etquomodo necessariis tantum 
rebus ad victum et vestitum pertinentibus contenti esse debeamus, pag. 481. 

Sepultus est in inferno.] — Ecce quae paena maneat improbos, qui morte preeoccupati 
sceleribus pleni decedunt, de qua, p. 81, et 82. 

Ut portaretur ab Angelis.]— Inter Angelorum officia hoc nonpostremum est, vide 
p. 445, et seq. 

In sinum ABRAHiE.]— De receptaculis animarum post mo tem habes, pag. 64, et seq. 

DOMINICA TERTIA POST PENTECOSTEN. 

GaUDIUM ERIT IN CffiLO SUPER UNO PECCATORE POENITENTIAM AGENTE, &C LuC. XV. 

7, &c.]— Inter caetera, quae ad pcenitentiam agendam peccatorem exstimulare debent, 
est ista coelitum laetitia, qua. perfruuntur ob peccatoris conversionem. Plura habes in 
hanc sententiam, p. 234, et 330, vel Homo quidam fecit ut in Dominica praecedenti. 

DOMINICA QUARTA POST PENTECOSTEN. 

Cum turba irruerent in Jesum ut aud. verbum, &c. Luc. v. 1, &c] — Vide exhor- 
tationem ad audiendum diligenter verbum Dei, pag. 14, et in praefat. Etquomodo pro 
captu cujusque tradenda sit doctrina Evangelii, ibidem infra ; idque praesertim diebus 
festis audiendum, p. 352. 

Ascendens in unam navem, qu.e erat. Simonis, &c.]— Petri navem non alterius ex 
Apostolis ingressus est Christus ut hoc suo facto insinuaret Petrum cum successoribus 
caput esse et principem pastorum Ecclesiae : de hac re, vide p. 95, et seq. et 296. 

Exi a me Domine.] — Qui ad sacram synaxin accedunt, in Petri exemplo et centurionis 
Matth. viii. agnoscant esse se tanti hospitis praesentia indignissimos : vide quae de prce- 
paratione Eucharistiae traduntur, p. 222, et seq. vel secundum aliarum Ecclesiarum ri- 
tum. 

Estote ergo misericordes sicut et pater, &c. Luc. vi. 36, &c] — Ut Christus no- 
bis condonet, prius condonare ipsi debemus iis a quibus lassi fuerimus. Vide explica- 
tionem illius petitionis : " Dimitte nobis debita nostra," &c. p. 486, et seq. Vide item 
de hoc Evang. in festo Trinit. 



PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 531 

DOMINICA QUINTA POST PENTECOSTEN. 

AtTDISTIS QUIA DICTUM EST ANTIQUIS. NoN OCCIDES, &C. MATTH. V. 33, &C.] — Hu- 

jus loci erit hoc decalogi praeceptura exponere, prout habetur, p. 373, et seq. 
Ego autem dico vobis, omnis qui irascitur.] — Haec verba exponuntur, p. 377, et 

seq. 
Audistis quia dictum est antiquis. Non m^Jchaberis, &c. — Hie similiter expona- 

tur hoc prseceptum, de quo habetur, p. 383, vel. " cum turbae irruerent in Jesum, ut 

" supra." 

DOMINICA SEXTA. 

MlSEREOR SUPER TURBAM, QUIA ECCE JAM TRIDUO SUSTINENT ME. MARC, viii. 2, &C.] 

— Praeter ea, quse notata sunt in Dominica quarta Quadragesimae poterit Parochus ea 
hue proferre, quae de paterna Dei de hominibus cura habentur, p. 444, et seq. 
Si dimisero eos jejunos deficient in via.] — Hie de imbecillitate hominum, qui nul- 
lum opus Deo gratum sine adjumento Dei possunt instituere, agendum est, ut habe- 
tur, pag. 468, et seq. vel, " Audistis quia dictum est antiquis. Non occides," ut su- 
"pra." 

DOMINICA SEPTIMA POST PENTECOSTEN. 

Attendite a falsis Prophetis, &c. Matth. vii. 15, &c] — Hie cavendum praecipi- 
tur ab hereticis. Quis vero censendus sit haereticus habes, p. 94. Quomodo autem hi, 
ciim in Ecclesia non sint, ab ea puniri possint, p. 94. Quibus autem artibus hi falsi 
prophetse utantur ad impia sua dogmata infundenda, habes, p. 15. 

In ignem mittetur, &c] — Dehoc igne infernali, p. 63. 

Sed qui facit voluntatem Patris mei, &c] — Haec sententia est veluti methodus 
brevissima, docens qua ratione ad regnum ccelorum pervenire possimus: quare qui- 
cumque cupimus illud adipisci, hanc sententiam prae oculis habere debemus, vide p. 
467, etdeinceps, ubi haec tertia petitio, " Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in ecelo et in terra," 

' explicatur. Vel " Misereor super turbam," ut in praecedenti Dominica. 

DOMINICA OCTAVA POST PENTECOSTEN. 

Redde rationem villicationis tu^e, Luc. xvi. 2, &c] — De ratione reddenda, cum 
unusquisque migrat e vita, vide p. 78. 

Facite tobis amicos de mammona iniquitatis.] — Ideo divites a. Deo bonis cumulan- 
tur, ut pauperibusea erogent, p. 4S6. Hie ad eleemosynas suos poterit exhortari Pa- 
rochus, prout est, p. 398, 400, et 438. Hie etiam locus pro intercessione Sanctorum 
facit, de qua, p. 328, et seq. et 436 ; vel " Attendite a falsis prophetis," ut in praece- 
denti Dominica, sicque deinceps omnia Evangelia quae consequenter in reliquis Domi- 
nicis proponuntur, in quibusdam Ecclesiis, in praecedenti Dominica legi consueverunt, 
quod notare supersedimus. 

DOMINICA NONA POST PENTECOSTEN. 
Flevit super illam, Luc. xix. 41.] — Flevit Christus, ut nos flere doceat. Quomodo 

vere in pcenitudine erratorum sint adhibendae lacrymae, et quam diligenter procuran- 

dae, habes, p. 248, ubide contritione agitur. 
Quia si cognovisses et tu.] — Summa est status nostri miseria nostram miseriam non 

agnoscere, vide pag. 468. 
Quia venient dies in te, et circumdabunt te, &c] — Hierusalem in exemplum pu- 



532 PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 

nitur hujus hominis, qui, multis a Deo benefices ornatus, male eis in sui perniciem 
abutitur, vide p. 503, et. 504. 

DOMINICA DECIMA. 

ELec apdd se orabat, Luc, xviii. 11, &c] — Quibus virtutibus oratio debeat esse com- 
itata, ut Deo placeat, et ab eo exaudiatur, vide p. 437, et seq. 

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.] — Hoc veri poenitentis exemplum inter alia pro- 
ponitur, p. 437. Quarecum istius turn aliorum exemplo, qui habentur ibidem et p. 
245 et 256, ad veram pcenitentiamParochi fideles excitabunt. Est praeterea exemplum 
eorum, qui, cum peccatores sint, Deum orant et exaudiuntur, pag. 430. Denique 
quanta humilitate ad Deum precaturi accedere debeamus hie demonstrate, p. 437. 

Qui se exaltat, humiliabitur.] — Christihumilitatis exemplum maximum pondusha- 
bet ad nostram superbiam deprimendam, p. 50. 

DOMINCA XI. 

Et deprecabantur eum, ut illi imponat manum, Marc, vii. 32, &c] — Istorum ex- 
emplo, qui Christum pro muto et surdo ad eum adducto, ut sanaretur, interpellant, 
monemur pro aliis orare. Quomodo vero id faciendum et pro quibus orandum habes, 
p. 433, et seq. 

Misit digitos in auriculas ejus.] — Christi exemplo pueris in baptismo, aures, oculi, 
pectus, humeri signo crucis recte insigniuntur. Vide de his et aliis baptismi caeremo- 
niis, et earum significatione, p. 176, et seq. 

Suspiciens in c(Elum ingemuit, &c.]— Cum Deus sit ubique, cur potius in caelum 
quam alio oculos convertamus, et cur in ccelis esse dicatur, p. 453. Praeterea quoni- 
am sacra? literae nos surdos et csecos, et omnibus membris captos saepe appellant : ut 
habetur, pag. 490, hie de malis quae peccatum invehit, ut ibidem habetur, disserere 
Parochus commode poterit. 

DOMINICA XII. 

Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, &c. Luc, x. 37, &c.] — In hanc 
sententiam populo proponantur, quae habentur initio explications Decalogi, p. 316, 
usque ad secundum prasceptum, vel quia hoc Evangelium concurrit cum Dominicade- 
cimaseptima, posteriorem hujus Evangelii partem priori preetermissa exponet. 

Homo quidam descendebat ab Hierusalem in Hierico, &c] — Hominis hujus ita 
miserabiliter a latronibus vulnerati nomine, Doctores intelligunt humanam naturam 
post Adae lapsum, quae, quot, qualia, et quanta, vulnera acceperit, habes, p. 37, 46S, 
et seq. 478, et seq. et 511, et seq. saepeque alibi. 

Samaritanus autem infundens oleum, &c] — Hicde Sacramentis agat Parochus, quae 
a nostro Samaritano, id est a. Christo instituta sunt, tamquam remedia contra vulnera 
humanae naturae, per Adae lapsum inflicta, ut habetur, p. 136. 

Curam illius habe.] — Nota genus humanum et Ecclesiam uni bomini a Christo com- 
missam, qua de re vide, p. 96, et sequent. 

Quis horum videtur fuisse PROxiMus.]— Ex hoc loco quis sit proximus explicatur, p. 
404. 

DOMINICA XIII. 
Jesu preceptor, miserere nostri, Luc. xvii. 13, &c] — De nomine Jesu, vide p. 39. 
Ite, ostendite vos sacerdotibus, &c] — Vide quae in hanc sententiam dicta sunt Do- 



PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 533 

minica secunda post Epiphaniam : vide prssterea, p. 254, ubi nominatim hie locus ad- 
ducitur. Quomodo item beneficio contritionis peccata remittantur, ex hoc loco pro- 
batur, p. 251. Qua? tamen confessionem requirit, ut habetur, p. 245 et 252. 

Nk soliciti sitis anim(E vestiue, &c Matth. vi. 25, &c] — Quantum immoderata 
solicitudo congerendarum opum, caeteraeque cupiditates animae saluti obsint, vide p. 
418, et seq. et hujus morbi remedium habes, p. 421, et sequent. 

Scit pater vester quod omnibus his indigetis.] — Etiamsi Deus sciat desideria nos- 
tra et indigeniiam, cur ei preces porrigamus, p. 427. 

Primum qucerite regnum Dei, &c] — De iis quae petenda sunt et quo ordine, haben- 
tur, p. 431, etseq. et 455, et seq. Porro hie commode secunda petitio Dominicae ora- 
tionis tota explicabitur, ut habetur, p. 45 S, et seq. 

Et HiEC omnia adjicientur vobis, &c] — Quatenus temporalia petenda, p. 480. 

DOMINICA XV. 

Et resedit qui erat mortuus, Luc, vii. 15.]— Si hie mortuus et quidam alii sint re- 
vocati ad vitam, quomodo intelligendum quod Christus primus omnium resurrexerit, 
vide p. 66. Hie tractari poterit articulus Symboli Apostolici penult, de carnis resur- 
rectione, p. 112, et seq. 

DOMINICA XVI. 

Si licet Sabbato curare, Luc. xiv. 3., &c] — De Sanctificatione dierum festorum, 
et a quibus tunc abstinendum, quidve agendum sit, habes, p. 359, et seq. 

Cum invitatus fueris ad nuptias, &c.]— Hie locus est cohortandi Christianos omnes, 
nealii aliis se praeferant, ut est, pag. 451, et 452, neve ambitiosi sint honorumque cu- 
pidiores, ut est, p. 50. 

DOMINICA XVII. 

Diliges Dominum Deum tuum, Matth. xxii. 37, &c.] — Vide Evangelium Domini- 
cae xii., ut supra. 

Quid vobis videtur de Christo, &c.] — Christus quomodo sit David filius, vide p. 48. 
Quomodo item non sit filius David ratione Divinitatis, habes, p. 43. 

DOMINICA XVIII. 

Videns autem Jesus fidem eorum, Matth. ix. 2, &c] — Ecce quantum fide alie- 
na moveatur Deus ad aliquod donum alteri non modo non petenti, sed ue cogitanti qui- 
dem impertiendum. Hinc fit ut in baptismo infantes regenerationis fiant participes, 
non quia mentis suae assentione credant, sed quia susceptorum, vel parentum, (si fide- 
les fuerint) sin minus, Ecclesiae Catholicas (ut ait Augustinus) fide muniantur, p. 164, 
et de patrinis, p. 160, et seq. 

Remittuntur tibi peccata tua, &c] — Christum ut hominem primum omnium po- 
testatem remittendorum peccatorum habuisse ex hoc loco probatur, pag. 109. Porro 
dum Sacerdos, jurisdictionem habens velordinariam, vel delegatam, rite paenitenti pec- 
cata remittit, non minus absolvitur, quam paralyticus, quantum est ex parte Sacram. 
De forma absolutionis habes, p. 241. 

Hie blasphemat, &c.]— Deblasphemia habetur, pag. 350, et de juramento, p. 343, et 

seq. 

DOMINICA XIX. 
Qui nuptias fecit filio suo, Matth. xxii. 2, &c.]— Quibus de causis vir et mulier 
conjungi debeant, vide p. 305, et quoa sponsae magis sint quarendce, p. 306, et de mu- 
tuis viri et mulieris officiis, p. 312, et seq. et quod Deum orandi causa certis tempori- 
bus a, matrimonii officio abstinere debeant, p. 315. Item de tribus matrimonii bonis . 
p. 310, et 311. 



534 PRAXIS CATECHISMI. 

Contumeuis affectos occiderunt, &c. — De contumelia, detractione, murmuratione, 

caeterisque vitiis quibus proximus laeditur, vide p. 406, etseq. 
Non habens vestem nuptialem, &c] — Vestem hanc nuptialem vestis Candida, vel su- 

dariolum quod baptizatis datur, designat, de quo p. 180. 
Mittite in tenebras exteriores, &c.]— Desententia et paena damnatorum, p. 8 1 . 

DOMINICA XX. 
Erat quidam Regulus, cujus filius infirmabatur, Joan, iv. 46, &c] — Unde tot 
miseriee et adversitates, et quae quotque illse sint, p. 478. Quo in malis et rebus adver- 
sis confugiendum, p. 501, et 507. Hie exponi poterit ultima petitio Dominicae ora- 
tionis : " Sed libera nos a malo," p. 508, et seq. 

DOMINICA XXI. 

Redde quod debes, Matth. xvii. 28., &c.] — Restitutio paenitenti est necessaria, ante- 
quam absolvatur, quia " non dimittitur peccatum, nisi restituatur ablatum," ut in- 
quit Augustinus : vide de restitutione, p. 393, et 396. Item de furto, rapina, usuris et 
aliis illicitis rerum usurpationibus, p. 393, et seq. 

Si non remiseritis, &c.] — Hie exponatur petitio ilia orationis Dominicae ; "Dimitte, 
" nobis debita nostra, sicut et nosdimittimus," &c. pag. 486, et seq. 

DOMINICA XXII. 
Magister! scimus quia verax es, Matth. xxii. 16., &c] — Genus assentationis pes- 

simum, quae ad proximi calamitatem et perniciem adhibetur. De adulatione habes p. 

407, et 408. " Quia verax es," &c. De' mendacio vide, p. 406, et seq. ubi notatur 

hoc ipsum testimonium ex hoc Evangelio decerptum. 
Reddite Quae sunt C^esaris Cesari, &c] — Vide quae debentur principibus et superi- 

oribus in potestate constitutis, p. 369. 

DOMINICA XXIII. POST PENTECOSTEN. 

Ecce princeps unus accessit et adorabat eum dicens, Matth. ix. 18., &c] — 
Hie differentia, qua infideles et Christiani a morbis liberari cupiunt, de qua p. 510, et 
51 1, et quomodo in morbis ad Deum, non ad prastigiatorum incantationes sit recurren- 
dum, ibid p. 51 1. 

Filia mea modo defuncta est.] — Hie de morte et novissimis, de quibus saepe ad po- 
pulum agendum esse praecipitur, p. 82, et 274. 

Si tetigero tantum fimbriam vestimenti.] — Hie de reliquiis Sanctorum, etcultus, 
et veneratione earum aget Parochus ex, p. 33 1 et seq. 

Et cum venisset Jesus in Domum principis, &c.]— Hie de ratione juvandi mortuos 
per sacrificium Misss et orationes, de qua p. 233, et 434, vel in quibusdam Ecclesiis 
legitur Evangelium Dominicae IV. Quadragesimss, de quo ibidem, Si plures sint Do- 
minicae inter Pentecosten et Adventum, servetur quod de his in Breviarii rubricis 
habetur. 

DOMINICA XXIV. POST PENTECOSTEN. 

Cum ergo videritis abominationem desolationis stantem in loco sacro, Matth. 
xxiv. 15., &c.] — Hicde signis praecedentibus diem judicii agendum est, de quibus, p. 80. 

Orate autem ne fiat fuga vestra, &c] — Hie locus adprobandum temporalia a Deo 
peti posse inducitur, p. 480, unde de hoc argumento Parochi etiam agere poterunt, 
de quo turn ibidem, turn p. 431 et 432, agitur. 

Sed propter electos breviabuntur dies illi.] — Hie de deemonum potestate poterit 
agi qui quantum possunt, et quamdiu volunt, homines tentaienon possunt. ut habetur 
pag. 501, etseq. 



GENERAL. INDEX* 



Abbots, permitted sometimes to administer Minor Orders - 297 

Abraham, his pilgrimage ------- 323 

Abraham's bosom -------- 63 

Absolved, who are to be- - - - - - - 263 

Absolution, form of - - - - - - - 241 

Power of, to whom confided - - - - - 261 

Accidents, remain in the holy Eucharist without a subject - - - 211 

Adam, misery brought by him on himself and on his posterity - 478,479 

In a state of innocence wanted food to recruit his strength - - 478 

Difference between his necessities and ours - - - - 479 

Sin, the cause of his wants ------ 478 

Although in Paradise, was not to lead a life, of indolence ; but his labour 

not painful ------- ibid 

His posterity deprived of the fruit of the tree of life, and cursed by God ibid 

Compared with Christ ------ 49 

Adultery, what - - -- -,- - - 384 

Why prohibited after murder - - - - - 383 

Its enormity ------- 387 

Its injustice -------- 386 

Its prohibition includes that of every species of impurity - - 384 

Also evil thoughts - . - - - - - - 385 

It impresses a peculiar mark of degradation - - - - 387 

Its evils and punishment ------ ibid. 

Almsdeeds, their necessity ------- 397 } 398 

Exhortation to'- - - - - - - 398 

We are bound to labour, in order to bestow them on the necessitous - 399 

To be united to prayer _.-«._. 443 

A medicine to cure the wounds of the soul - - - - 497 

Affinity of sponsors, with whom contracted - - -. - -161,188 

Amen, its signification at the end of the Lord's Prayer - - - 515 

Why reserved to the priest in the Sacrifice of the Mass - - 518 

Angels, creation of-------- 34 

Adorned with grace from their creation - ibid 

With wisdom and power ------ ibid 

To be honored ------- 328 

Why represented in human form ----- 334 

Angels, their care of man, ------ 445 

Their obedience to God, - - . - - - - 474 

Angel, taught Tobias many things, ----- 446 

Angelical salutation, the Church has added to it prayers to the Virgin - 435 

In it God is honoured ------- ibid 

Anger, when sinful, when not ------ 377 

Articles of the Creed — 

The first _._----. 23 

The second -------- 37 

The third ------ -45 

The fourth, • - 52 

The fifth, -------- 62 

The sixth, - - - - - - - - 71 

The seventh, --.----_ 77 

The eighth, -__--_. 33 

The ninth, ------- qq 

The tenth, - - 106 

The eleventh, - - - - - - _ \\<z 

The twelfth, - - - - - - _ 122 



536 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Ascension of Christ, declares his majesty and glory, . 
Reasons for .... 

Christ ascended as man, soul and body, into heaven, 
The ascension of Christ, the end, as it were, to which all the oth 
er mysteries are referred 

Avarice, reprehension of 

Baptism, sacrament of 

Knowledge of, very necessary 

When to be explained by the pastor, 

The signification of the word, 

The sacrament of, by what names expressed 

Its definition as a sacrament 

Its matter .... 

The baptismal water not the sacrament 

Water, its matter 

Figures of baptism 

Chrism, why used in baptism 

Form of baptism 

Different amongst the Greeks 

Why administered by the Apostles in the name of Jesus 

May be administered in three different ways 

May be administered by one or three ablutions 

Words of form, to be pronounced with the ablution 

Head to be washed ..... 

Instituted by Christ our Lord, and when 

Its power of sanctifying, when given to water 

When the obligation of receiving baptism commenced 

Ministers of ...... 

Order to be observed amongst .... 

Why priests may baptise in presence of the bishop . 

Necessary to salvation ..... 

To be administered to infants .... 

Infants baptised in the faith of their parents and of the Church 

To be baptised as soon as possible .... 

The manner of administering baptism to adults different from that 
administering it to infants .... 

When to be fmmediately conferred upon adults 

Dispositions which should be brought to it by adults 

Those who are to be baptised asked if they wish to be admitted to the 
sacrament ..... 

When to be administered to the insane and the lethargic, 

To obtain its grace, faith necessary 

Requires penitence as a condition 

Remits and eradicates every sin . 

Concupiscence remains after, but does not constitute sin 

Proper effect of baptism the remission of all sin 

Remits sin, and the punishments due to sin . 

Remits not the punishment due to the civil laws 

Restores not our nature to its original perfection, and why 

Its fruits ...... 

Impresses a character .... 

To repeat it a sacrilege .... 

Opens heaven ..... 

The baptismal font, how and when consecrated 

In baptism, names to be imposed 

Its ceremonies ..... 

Beatitude — see the eleventh and twelve articles of the Creed 

Essential in what it consists 

Illustrations of .... . 

Accessaries of ..... 

Benignity of God rescues us from evil in many ways 
Benediction of God, the cause why our works prosper 
Bishops alone confer holy orders .... 



73 

73, et seq. 

71 



73 

418 



of 



148 
ibid 
149 
ibid 
ibid 
150 
151 
ibid 
ibid 
152 
153 
ibid 
154 
ibid 
155 
156 
ibid 
ibid 
ibid 
ibid 
157 
158 
159 
158 
162 
ibid 
164 
ibid 

ibid 
165 
166 



166, 179 
166 
ibid 
ibid 

167, 168 

168, 169 
169 

169, 170 
170 
171 
167, etseq. 
174 
ibid 
H5 
177 
180 
176, etseq. 

112, 122 
127 
ibid 
ibid 
513 
479 
297 



GENERAL INDEX. 



537 



Bishops, their office .... 
Blasphemy of God and of his saints a grievous crime 
Blessings, temporal .... 

So many helps to obtain spiritual blessings 
Bread, signification of . 



295 
350 
480, et seq. 
477 
480 



Catechism, its necessity .... 

Adapted to the comprehension of all classes 
Character impressed, the effect of three of the sacraments 

What it accomplishes in us 
Charity, two precepts of . . . 

To our neighbour originates in the love of God 
Its duties ..... 

Whom it embraces as its objects 
Chastity belongs not only to virgins, but also to such as lead a life of celibacy 
as well as to those who live in a married state 
To be preserved with most Vigilant care 
Its preservatives .... 

Cautions in avoiding the occasions of its violation 
Ceremonies, &c. of baptism reduced to three heads 

Rites, &c. of the sacrament of confirmation 
Ofpenance 
Of extreme unction 
Christ, his kingdom spiritual . 
Two natures of 
Why called our Lord 

Not to be called the Son of God by adoption, but by nature 
Derived his origin according to the flesh from David 
Why called a second Adam 

Reads us a salutary lesson of humility in his birth 
Expiated our crimes by his blood 
Instituted all the sacraments 
Is our brother .... 

His resurrection severs not the ties of brotherhood subsisting between 
him and man k ' _ . . . . 

Should be imitated by submitting our will to the will of God 
The mystery of his passion the greatest manifestation of God's power 
and goodness ...... 

The mediation of his passion obtains the pardon of our sins 
Christian philosophy superior to human wisdom 

The spiritual origin of all Christians the same 
The science of a Christian comprehended in one thing 
What should engage the labours of a Christian teacher 
Church, its proper acceptation ..... 

How it differs from the synagogue 

Designated by a variety of names 

Militant and triumphant ..... 

. Figures and comparisons of .... 

Who excluded from : 

Distinctive marks of .... 

Visible head of 

Unity ....... 

Sanctity .....;. 

Catholicity ...... 

Apostolicity . . . . 

Infallible criterion by which to distinguish the true from a false Church 

Cannot err . . 

True worship of God only in the true Church 

God, her founder .... 

That she possesses the keys of the kingdom of heaven, known by faith 
Why we say "I believe the Church," not in the Church 
Cleric, derivation and meaning of the word . 
Clerical tonsure, its origin and signification 
Communion, one of the names of the Eucharist 

68 



15 

ibid 
146 
147 
362,363 
ibid 
379 
ibid 

385 

ibid 

385,388 

389 

176 

192 

256 

278, 279 

41 

43 

ibid 

47, 48 

48 

49 

50 

109 

142 

450 

451 

473 

486 

492 

25 

452 

16, 19 



92 

ibid 

93 

94 

ibid 

95 
ibid 
ibid 
98 
99 
100 
ibid 
ibid 
101 
ibid 
ibid 
ibid 
288 
ibid 



538 



GENERAL INDEX 



Communion, preparation for .... 

Obligatory on all, at least at Easter 

Under one kind ..... 
Concupiscence, what, and why prohibited 

Remains in baptised persons, but does not constitute sin 

Assails even the just .... 

The root of all evil .... 

Not always sinful .... 

Implanted in us by God as a natural propensity 



222, et seq. 
225 
227, 228 
416,417 
168 
470 
414 
417 
ibid 
ibid 
ibid 
ibid 
422 

421, et seq. 
41S 
415 
418 
420 
421 

252, et seq. 
253 



Depraved by primeval prevarication 

When well regulated, attended with certain advantages 

Why called " sin" by S. Paul 

Who are most enslaved to it 

Antidotes against ..... 

How known to be sinful ...... 

To covet a neighbour's property and to covet his wife, how they differ 
" Thou shalt not covet," meaning of ... 

"Thy neighbour's wife" ...... 

Danger of such criminal thoughts ..... 

Confession,' its importance 
Why instituted 

Its necessity ....... 256 

Its nature and efficacy ...... 254 

Its definition ....... ibid 

Its rites and ceremonies ...... 256 

Called " an accusation," and why ..... 254 

Judgment pronounced in its tribunal different from that pronounced 

in courts of civil law ...... ibid 

Instituted by the goodness and mercy of Christ . . . ibid 

Figures of ....... 255 

Law of, who bound by . . . . . . 257 

When obligatory on children ..... ibid 

When to be repeated ...... 257,260 

Its minister ........ 261 

Not to be profaned by idle excuses .... 263 

Guilt of those who, through false shame, conceal sins in confession 264 

Requires diligent examination of conscience . . . ibid 

Confessor, when he should dismiss the penitent without absolution . . ibid 

Confidence in prayer, motives to ..... 439 

Confirmation, sacrament of . . . . . . 181 

Name of ........ 182 

A sacrament ....... ibid 

Difference between it and baptism . . . . . 183 

Instituted by Christ . . . . . . 184 

Why called the sacrament of chrism . . . . 185 

Chrism, its matter ...... 184, 185 

Consecrated by a bishop . . . . . . 185 

Why made of oil and balsam ..... ibid 

The ceremonies and time of its consecration . . . ibid 

Accompanied with prayer . . . . . . 186 

Form of ....... ibid 

Three things to be observed in . . . . ibid 

Its proper minister . . . . . . . 187 

Why it requires a sponsor ...... 188 

Affinity contracted with the sponsor .... ibid 

At what age to be received ..... 189 

Appertains equally to all Christians .... 188 

Adults who receive it should be pierced with sorrow for their sins . 190 

Should, before receiving it, have recourse to confession . . ibid 

Imparts a new grace ...... ibid 

Its effects .... . . ibid, et seq. 

Why called confirmation . . . . . . 18'-J 

Cannot be reiterated . . . . . . 192 

Its rites and ceremonies ...... ibid 

At what timo in particular to be administered . . . ibid 



GENERAL INDEX. 



539 



Contrition, what ..... 

Its efficacy .... 

Its intensity .... 

Requires a particular sorrow for every mortal sin 

What it requires .... 

Motives to .... 

Fruit of ..... 

Names of .... 
Creature, new in Christ, what 

Cross of Christ, its value .... 

Crown of glory prepared for the just 



Debts from which we petition to be released, why called ours 
Decalogue ........ 

Is an epitome of all laws ..... 

Its commandments reducible to the two cardinal precepts of charity 

Its emanating from God a strong motive to its observance 

With what majesty promulgated 
Delicacies of the table not a fit object of prayer 
Demon, transforming himself into an angel of light, persuades us to desire as 
good what is the contrary 

Why called " the evil one" 

To him attributable all the evils of which our neighbour is apparent 
ly the cause .... 

Their assaults .... 

Why called the princes and rulers of darkness 

Against whom they do not level their attacks 

Their power restrained 
Descent of Christ to hell 

Reason of .... 
Devil, his proper office 

With what design he tempts us 

Why called " the tempter" 

What means he uses to tempt us 
Doctrine of the Catholic faith, in what contained 

Christian doctrine four heads of 

Enemies, love of, a most exalted exercise of charity 

Those who love their enemies are the children of God 

To be forgiven, if we hope for forgiveness 

To be loved ..... 

The unforgiving should beg of God the grace to forgive 

Our invisible enemies .... 

Eucharist, those deprived of suffer a great spiritual loss 

Its institution ..... 

Its dignity and excellence .... 

Designated by a variety of names 

Why called communion .... 

To be consecrated, and received, fasting 

One of the seven sacraments 

In it we adore the body and blood of Christ 

What properly constitutes the sacrament of 

Difference between it and other sacraments 

Its nature as a sacrament constituted by the consecration of the 
matter ..... 

Is one sacrament, not many 

Signifies three things 

Its matter twofold .... 

Why in it a little water is mixed with wine 

What signified by the bread and wine 

Its form ..... 

Form of the consecration of the wine 

The words of consecration effects three things 

Contains the real body and blood of Christ 



245 
251 
248 
249 
ibid 
250, 251 
ibid 
247 
320 
492 



492 
et seq. 
ibid 
ibid 
317 
319 



473 
513 



514 



ibid 

501 

501,502 

62 

64 

502 

ibid 

ibid 

503 

19 

ibid 



ibid 
ibid 
496 
499 
seq. 
193 
194 
195 
ibid 
196 
ibid 
,197 
196 
197 

ibid 
ibid 
198 
ibid 
200 
201 
203 
208 
207 
211 



19S, 

COS 



540 



GENERAL INDEX. 



208 
seq. 
,212 
ibid 
ibid 
213 
ibid 
215 

216 
ibid 
217 
ibid 



ibid 
219 

220 
ibid 
ibid 
seq. 

222 



ibid 



Eucharist is not merely a sign of the body of Christ .... 

Its fruits ....... 218 et 

Contains Christ entire . . . . . .211, 

What it contains by " concomitance" 
The two consecrations, why separately made 
Christ whole and entire contained in every particle of either species 
The substance of bread and wine remain not after consecration 
Why called bread and wine after consecration 
Wonderful change which takes place in the sacrament of the, call 
ed transubstantiation ..... 

Not to be examined with too curious a scrutiny 
How Christ is present in the Eucharist . , 

The species of bread and wine remain without any subject 
Administration of, why instituted by Christ under the species of 

bread and wine ...*.. 
The source of all grace ..... 

How it imparts grace ..... 

" The first grace" not given to man without having received the 
Eucharist, at least in desire .... 

The end of all the sacraments .... 

Prefigured by the manna . 

Its advantages ...... ibid, et 

Three ways of receiving ...... 

Those who, when they are prepared to receive the body of the 
Lord sacramentally, receive it only in desire, deprive themselves 
of the greatest blessings .... . . 

Unlawful for any to approach, without sacramental confession, 
should a priest be accessible, and the conscience be burdened with 
mortal sin ....... 224 

The marriage debt to be abstained from for some days before re- 
ceiving it ........ ibid 

To be received often ...... 225 

Was received daily by the faithful, in the early ages of the Church 226 

Denied to those who have not arrived at the use of reason . . 227 

Denied to infants, and why . ..... ibid 

Denied to the insane ...... ibid 

Not administered to the laity under both species . . . 227, 22S 

Why this custom was established by the Church . . . 228 

Power of consecrating given to the priests alone . . . 229 

The unconsecrated not allowed to touch the sacred vessels . . ibid 

A sacrifice ........ ibid 

A victim most acceptable to God ..... 230 

Instituted by Christ for two reasons .... ibid 

As a sacrament, has the effect of meriting ; but as a sacrifice, has the 

effect not only of meriting, but also of satisfying . . 231 

Sacrifice of, when instituted . . . . . ibid 

Figures and prophecies of . 232 

An ineffable pledge of love .... . 485 

Why called " our bread" ...... ibid 

Why called "our daily bread" .... ibid 

See sacrifice . . . . . : 231 et seq. 

Evils, when we suffer, we should fly to God for refuge ... 500 

We pray not for deliverance from all evil .... 512 

Some things commonly thought evil, yet very advantageous . ibid 

Those only we deprecate, which are of no spiritual advantage . ibid 

From what evils we should pray to be delivered . . . ibid 

The evils of which our neigbour is apparently the cause, to be attri- 
buted to the devil . . . . . . 514 

Exemption from evil to be asked of God .... 509 

Extreme Unction ....... 274 & seq. 

When to be administered ..... 278 

How to be administered ...... ibid 

Faith necessary to salvation ....... 20 

Its degrees many . . . , . . . 2 1 

What we are first to believe ..... ibid. 



GENERAL INDEX. 



541 



Faith, the knowledge derived from Faith much more certo i n than that which 
is founded on human reason ..... 

In God's Omnipotence how useful and necessary 

In the redemption was always necessary 

Of old same as ours 

Must precede penance 

Necessary in prayer 

Firmness of, principal thing in prayer 
False testimony, what 

Injuries which it inflicts 

Forbidden not only in a court of justice but also in every other 
place 

Against ourselves unlawful 

Includes lies ..... 

Fasting and alms-deeds to be united with prayer. — See Alms-deeds 
Father, signification of, as applied to God. — See First article of the Creed 

Why the first person of the B. Trinity is called " Father" 

Fathers, who are called 

Fathers of every description to be honored 

God the Father of all 

Name of Father, as applied to God inspires confidence in prayer 

See parents ..... 

Festivals commanded to be observed 

Why instituted ..... 

Other festivals besides the Sabbath observed by the Jews 

The most solemn festivals of the church 

How to be observed by Christians 
Figure of Christ's conception and Nativity 

Of his cross ..... 

Of confession . . . . . 

Flattery, a detestable vice .'..,, 
Flatterers guilty of calumny and detraction 
Food of the soul, variety of . 
Form of the Sacrament of Baptism . 

Of Confirmation ..... 

Of the Eucharist ..... 

Of Penance ..... 

Of Extreme Unction .... 

Form of prayer to God and the Saints different 
Fornication, evils which it carries with it 

Detestation of .... . 

Frugality should be practised .... 

Fruit of the tree of life ..... 



Gain, the fruit of honest industry .... 
Glory, what ....... 

Of God, how prayed for . 

Of the Saints incomprehensible 
God, one only and not more ..... 

Why called Father ..... 

Omnipotent ..... 

The Creator of all . 

Preserves and governs what he created 

Said figuratively " to repent" 

Author of the written and unwritten Law 

Easy to love him .... 

Why called jealous . . . 

Why he menaces punishment to the third and fourth generation 

His justice yields to his goodness 

His name, how honored .... 

Many names given to him 

How to be praised .... 

Holds him not guiltless who takes his name in vain 

To be loved first, and after him our parents 

His providence over man .... 



25. 

32 

38 

&39 

237 

438 

439 

404 

ibid 

ibid 
ibid 
406 



ibid 
368 
ibid 
445 
439 
372 
358 
ibid 
ibid 
ibid 
360 
) &50 
54 
255 
407 & 408 
ibid 
484 
153 
186 
202 
241 
276 
436 
386 
384 
399 
478 

482 
463 
455 
124 

28 
ibid 

32 
et seq. 

36 
236 
317 
319 
337 
338 
339 
341 
342 
ibid 
350 
364 
445 



542 



GENERAL INDEX. 



God, Forgets not man .... 

His benignity and mercy towards man 

His love manifested in our redemption 

Is prompted to inflict chastisement, not by a feeling of hostility but 
of love ....... 

Why he chastises those whom he loves 

Is not ignorant of our calamities .... 

Is the God of all . 

Is every where and how ..... 

Why he is said to be in heaven .... 

How loved from the heart .... 

The first thing to be asked of him .... 

In what manner we pray that his name may be sanctified 

His name, " holy and terrible," needs no sanctification 

How it is sanctified in all . 

God's name to be sanctified in deed, and not in word only 

His provident care of man ..... 

Has not called us to ease and indolence 

Never forsakes us 

Lends us his aid to attain the kingdom of heaven . 

Cannot be loved by us as he ought, without the help of his grace 

Without his aid and assistance we cannot aspire to Christian wisdom 

Requires the greatest love in every thing we do in his service 

All his works good ..... 

Imparted his goodness to all his works 

Why in particular we venerate his holy will 

His ways unsearchable ..... 

Consults for our interests better than we can desire 

All things necessary for life to be referred to his glory 

His infinite power to be adored 

He is ready to pardon the sins of the penitent 

Is offended by sin . 

Is a most bountiful Father 

His justice most rigorous 

How he tempts his own 

How he suffers the good to be tempted 

How said to lead us into temptation 

Gives us power to trample Satan under foot 

Gives us power to overcome our enemies 

His goodness rescues from evil in more ways than one 

Wishes not that we should be exempt from every inconvenience 

Administers consolation to those who labour under adversity 

Employs the devil as an instrument for inflicting punishment on the 
wicked ..... 
God-fathers in baptism, (see Baptism) 
Grace, what ..... 

How conferred by the Eucharist, 

Hatred, a diabolical crime 

Remedies, against .... 

Hebrews, why chosen by God 

Their deliverance from Egypt 
Their oppression, why tolerated by God 
When and where they received the Law from God 
The promises made to them, why not accomplished until after the 
lapse of four hundred years 



sigmr 
How 



low Christ descended into .... 
What places designated by the name of 
Heretics, their insidious artifices to disseminate their impious doctrines 

Who is to be considered a heretic 
Holy Ghost, we should not be ignorant of 

Proper signification of the words "Holy Ghost" 
Why no proper name is given to the Holy Ghost 
Equal in all things to the Father and the Son 



441 
448 
ibid 

449 
ibid 
450 
ibid 
453 
ibid 
454 
455 
ibid 
ibid 
456 
457 
ibid 
466 
ibid 
ibid 
469 
ibid 
474 
475 
ibid 
476 
475 
476 
477 
483 
491 
ibid 
ibid 
492 
502 
503 
ibid 
505 
ibid 
513 
et seq. 
ibid 

ibid 

et seq. 

463 

194 



382 
ibid 
323 
ibid 
324 
ibid 

ibid 

62,63 

63,64 

63 

14, 15 

90 

83 

ibid 

84 

ibid 



GENERAL INDEX. 543 

Holy Ghost, God ........ 85 

Proceeds from the Father and the Son . . . 87 
Gifts of . . . . . . .88,89 

Why called a gift ..... 89 

Homicide, what sort of, not prohibited by the fifth Commandment . 375, et seq. 

Honor ......... 365 

The precept of honoring parents ..... 362 

Propriety of the word " honor," as used in the precept . . 365 

Honor to be paid to parents of every description . . . 368 
Duties of honor due to them . . . . 366, et seq. 

Honor to be paid them after their death .... 368 

Blessings obtained by those who honor their parents . . . 370 

An untimely death to be apprehended by such as despise their parents 371 

Hope, what devotion to God should be inspired by the hope of obtaining the 

happiness of heaven ...... 474 

Should be based on the love of God ..... ibid 

We should hope to obtain the pardon of our sins . . . 490,491 

In temptation, what motives to inspire . _ . . . 501 

Should rest on the divine protection . . . . ibid 

Husband, duty of, towards his wife . . . . . 312 

Towards his family ...... ibid 

Hypocrites, pray not from the heart ...... 442 

Jealousy, what attributed to God . . . . . . 337 

Jesus, the son of God, was alone able to reconcile us to God . . 38 

Great profit reaped by those who believe Jesus Christ to be the son of God 37 

Signification of the word Jesus ..... S9 

How it comprehends every other name given to the Saviour . . 40 

Jesus Christ, King, High-Priest and Prophet .... ibid 

The Son of God, and true God ..... 42 

Jews, (see Hebrews) ....... 323, et seq> 

Images of Christ and of his Saints, not only lawful but also very useful . 334 

What should be the sentiments of those who pray before the images of the saints 436 

Incarnation of the Word of inestimable value .... 45 

Mystery of, not accomplished by one person only of the Trinity . 46 

No confusion of natures caused by .... ibid 

Why attributed peculiarly to the Holy Ghost . . . ibid 
In the mystery of the incarnation, some things above, some according 

to the order of Nature ...... ibid 

Wonders accomplished in ..... 47 

Inconveniences to be borne patiently . . . . . 514 

Industry honest, its fruits ....... 482 

Blessed by God . . . . . . ibid 

Infants, (see Baptism) . . . . . . . 1 48 

Infidels converted to the faith should adhere to their first wives . . 309 
Ingratitude of man towards God ..... 488, et seq. 

Inhumanity to the poor to be avoided by him who would be heard by God . 438 

Injuries, every means should be employed to persuade Christians to forget them 494, 495 

Should be forgiven by him who would be pardoned by God . 438 

God demands of us to forget them .... 494 

Advantages obtained by those who forgive them . . . 381 

Troubles incidental to those who do not forgive them . . ibid 

Remedies against hatred ...... 382 

A willingness to forgive sufficient, although corrupt nature may reclaim 495- 

To forget injuries the best species of charity . . . 380 
Those who refuse to forget injuries should say in the Lord's Prayer, 

" forgive us our trespasses" ..... 494 

Instruction of the Pastor to be accommodated to all . . . 13 

Interior joy of the Saints . . ..... 485 

The issue of every thing to be left to God ..... 4S6 

Judgment, last ........ 78 

Of Christ, two-fold ...... ibid 

General, its necessity . . . . . 7S ct seq. 

To be administered in civil courts according to justice and law . 409 

Judge of all, why Christ will bo ... . SO 



544 



GENERAL INDEX 



Judges who are venal, guilty of rapine ..... 395 

Cannot reject sworn evidence ..... 404 

Jurisdiction, power of, how proved . . . . . 261 

Original justice given to man, not as an appendage of his nature, but as 

a supernatural gift ...... 35 

Justification, of a sinner, the work of Gods infinite power . 109 
Not to be attained by those who are not prepared to observe all the 

commandments of God ...... 321 

Keys, power of, its necessity . . . . . . 107 

Dignity and extensive power of ... 107, 108 

All have not the power of . . . . . 108 

Kings arc to be obeyed ....... 369 

Kingdom of heaven ....... 458etseq. 

Its excellence ....... 465 

Helps given by God to attain it .... . 466 

Those who desire to enter, should pray to God that his will may be 

accomplished ....... 467 

Of Heaven to be prayed for before all other things . , 458 

Prayer for, accompanied with many blessings . . . 459 

Of Christ not of this world ...... 4G2 

Why calledjustice ...... 463 

What it is . . . . . . .■ . . ibid 

Within us ........ ibid 

Which is the Church ... ... 464 

How prayed for .... . . 465 

Of the grace of God in whom, &c. .... 463 

Of the glory of God, what ...... ibid 

Of grace, why put before that of glory .... ibid 

Of Christ, the Church, its propagation .... 464 

Of God, how it comes to sinners ..... ibid 

Law, of nature, what . . . . . . . 317 

Same as the written law ...... 318 

Violated by the unforgiving ...... 493 

Not difficult to be observed . . . . , . 319 

The Law is to be obeyed ...... 320 

Of the Decalogue, not a new law, but the law of nature set in a clear light 318 

Witli what majesty promulged . . . . . 319 

Benefit of observing the . . . . . . 321 

More readily observed by knowing 0°d to be our Lord . . . . 325 

Of every description, induces to its observance by hope of reward or fear of 

punishment ....... 335 

Manner of keeping ....... 339 

Of God, to be kept in sincerity of soul ..... 416 

Is, as it were, a mirror in which we behold our deformities . . ibid 

Of divine and human institution, difference between . . . ibid 

Legitimate teacher necessary . . . . . . 13 

Life eternal, what it signifies . . .... 122 

Expresses the happiness of heaven better than the word " blessedness" 123 

Man's, on earth a temptation ...... 504 

And salvation depend on God ...... 483 

Loquacity to be avoided . . . . . . 412 

Lying of every sort, to be avoided, see Eighth Commandment . 403, et seq. 



Magistrates, honor due to . . . . . . 369 

When to be obeyed, when not ..... 370 

Man formed after God's image and likeness ..... 35 

Created last of all, and endowed with immortality not as the condition of 

his nature, but by the free gift of God .... ibid 

His fall 37 

What he owes to the Redeemer ...... 44 

What he owes to God ....... 449 

His misery ........ 460,467 



GENERAL INDEX. 



545 



Man, the sin of entailed by Adam . . ... 

Though justified, cannot reduce the lusts of the flesh to entire subjection 

Sentence of condemnation pronounced against him 

His instability .... 

His weakness ..... 
Should be desirous of God's honor 

Compared to sick persons 

Compared to children .... 
Mary, B. Virgin, see third Article ofthe Creed 
Mass, sacrifice of, same as that ofthe cross 

Not merely commemorative, but also propitiatory 

Offered in behalf of, and profitable to the dead 

Its rites and ceremonies not superfluous 
Matter of the sacrament ofthe Eucharist, see Eucharist 
Of Penance, see penance .... 
Of Extreme Unction, see Exteme Unction 
Matrimony, derivation of 

Designated by various names . 

Definition of 

Its nature, in what it consists . 

Not contracted bywords which relate to future time 

Validity contracted by a nod or other sign, instead of words 

Requires no consummation in order to its validity ; consent ofthe par 
ties sufficient .... 

May be considered in a two-fold light, in its natural relations, and as 
Sacrament ... 

Indissoluble 

Advantages of its indissolubility 

Three advantages arising from Marriage 

Why instituted . 

Its nature as a Sacrament 

Is one ofthe seven Sacraments . 

Instituted by God 

Signifies and communicates grace 

An excellence communicated to it in the Gospel dispensation which it 
did not possess before ..... 

Matrimony ofthe Jews, .... 

Matrimony consists in the union of two only . 

Impediments of ..... 

Dispositions of those who contract it . 

Its use ...... 

Cannot be contracted by persons legally disqualified, . 

Constituted by consent . . 

That consent expressed in words relating to the present time 

Words necessary in order to express mutual consent 

Consent of one party only insufficient for the validity of 

The words, " increase and multiply," impose not a necessity on all of 
embracing the married state .... 

Polygamy opposed to the nature of matrimony 

Clandestine ...... 

Members, though dead, do not cease to belong to the body of Christ 
Murder, forbidden without any exception, 

A grievous sin ..... 

Law against, to be heard with pleasure 

Lives of all protected by this law 

Of one's self unlawful .... 

The law against stays not only the hand but also the desires of the heart 

Two things contained in this law 
Medicine, given by God to man .... 

What reliance to be placed on its efficacy 
Merits our, founded on the passion of Christ . 

Do not derogate from it 

Possible for us to merit when aided by the grace of God 
Ministers'of Baptism, see Baptism .... 
Of Confirmation, see confirmation 
Of penance, should be learned and prudent, see penance 
69 



478 
470 
473 
461 
479 
345 
468 



45 et: 



304 



232 
233 
ibid 
234 
193 
tseq. 
274 
SOI 
ibid 
ibid 
302 
303 
ibid 

ibid 

ibid 
,309 
309 
310 
305 
306 
307 
ibid 
ibid 



ibid 
309 
313 
314 
ibid 
302 
ibid 
303 
ibid 
ibid 



308 
314 
104 
376 
378 
374 
375 
376 
377 
374 
511 
ibid 
270 
ibid 
271 
148 
181 
234 






546 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Ministers of the sacrament of Orders, see orders 

Misery of man ....... 

Names given to those who are baptised, see Baptism . 
Name of God, how to be sanctified in all . 

His name, " holy and terrible," needs not our sanctification . 

How sanctified in all ...... 

To be sanctified in deed and not in word 

Our neighbour, who ....... 

Oaths ......... 

Obedience to the will of God * 

Observance ofthe Sabbath, .... . . 

Of festivals, . .... 

Order, what ........ 

Orders, seven ....... 

Holy and Minor Orders, ..... 

Holy Orders, why reckoned amongst the Sacraments ofthe Church 

Sacrament of, imprints a character . 

Tonsure 

Order of Porter 

Of Reader, 

Of Exorcist, 

Of Acolyte 

Of Sub-Deacon 

Of Deacon 

Of Priest 

Holy Orders impose an obligation to perpetual continency 

To whom they should be administered 

Conferred on certain appointed days . 

Not to be conferred on boys or insane persons 

Impart grace ...... 

Age required for the reception of 

Those who are to be ordained, should first have recourse to the Sacra^ 
ment of Penance ....... 

Parents, duty of, towards their children ... 

When not to be obeyed ..... 

Honour due to .... 362 

Should avoid extreme indulgence and extreme severity towards their 
children ...... 

Punishment of disobedience to ... 

Passion of Christ, a manifestation ofthe power and goodness of God 

To be frequently proposed to the consideration of the faithful 

The time of, why specially recorded 

Reasons of .... 

Bitterness of 

Benefits of 

Procures the pardon of sin 

From it emanates all the virtue of our satisfaction 
Pastors of the Church to be heard, as Christ himself, see Preface 

To be obeyed ..... 
Penance, its necessity .... 

Its neglect, the cause of se:ious injury to our souls 

Penance considered as a virtue 

As a Sacrament .... 

Various significations of 

Preceded by Faith .... 

Why a virtue ..... 

By what degrees we arrive at . 

The Scriptures propose heaven as a reward of 

External, a Sacrament 

Why instituted by God 

Matter and form of . .... 



282 
467, 468 

148 
456 
455 
ibid 
457 

404 
343 et seq. 
475 
353 
358 
287 
ibid 
288 
287 
299 
288 
2S9 
290 
ibid 
ibid 
291 
292 
293 
291 
298 
297 
299 
ibid 
ibid 

298 



366 



372 

365 

etseq. 

372 
871 

486 

54 

53 

57 

59 

60 

487 

492 

14 

369 

234 

235 

236 

239 

235 

237 

ibid 

238 

247 

240 

ibid 

241 



GENERAL INDEX 



547 



340 eti 



Penance, rites and ceremonies of 

Fruits of ... 

Constituent parts of 

Public, why enjoined for public transgressions. 
Two things to be observed in 
Requires restitution, 
Penitent, what he should propose to himself . 
Perjury, what, see Second and Eighth Commandments 
Committed many ways 
Proneness of man to 
Visited by punishment in many ways . 
Pride, very offensive to God . 
Peculiar relations of the Divine Persons, 

The first Person of the Blessed Trinity, why called the Father, 
What belongs to them not a fit object of curious investigation 
Philosophy, Christian, differs from the wisdom of the world . 
Philosophers, their opinions concerning God .... 

Pope, the head of the Catholic Church .... 

His supreme dignity and jurisdiction of divine right 
Is the Supreme Governor of the Universal Church, the successor of S 
Peter, and Christ's vicar on earth 
Prayer, we pray first to God and then to the saints, . 
Best method of praying 

For whom we should pray . . . 

We should pray to the saints, 
In what sense we beg of them to take pity on us 
We should pray in spirit and in truth 
Infidels cannot do so . . . . • 

We should offer up our prayers in the name of Christ 
The Divine Majesty approaches him who prays, 
To pray is to commune with God 
"'o pray is to honour God 
hrist spent whole nights in 
annerof .... 

mefits of . . 

any degrees of, and of thanksgiving 

ental ..... 

cal ..... 

iner's, when heard by God with propitious ear 
cessary . . . . 

efficacy with God 
nfidence in . 
proof of religion, 
acknowledgment of our subjection to God 
e key of heaven 
parts .... 

zo principal parts of . 

such as have not been illumined by the light of Faith 

those to whom God refuses to lend a willing ear 

ould be offered for the wicked 

- the dead ...... 

' those who suffer in Purgatory, rests on the authority of the Apos 
les ....... . 

those who are in a state of mortal sin, comparatively oflittle advan 

S e 

paration for ....... 

; to be avoided by such as would have their prayers heard by God 
idered odious by contempt of the Law of God 
nits of no wavering, 
ital, excludes not vocal 
ital, of higher excellence than vocal 
lie and private 
eapon against the devil 
.ucu to be observed in 
nosterous order observed by some in their prayers 



242 

243 

244 

2C3 

270 

396 

237 

403 et seq. 

349 

351 

ibid 

43S 

29 

28 et seq. 

30 

25 



296,297 
436 
429 

433 et seq. 
436 
ibid 
440 
441 
442 
516 
ibid 
425 
424 
440 

425 et seq. 

429 et seq. 
440 
441 
431 
424 
ibid 
439 
425 
ibid 
ibid 
428 
429 
431 
ibid 
434 
ibid 

ibid 

ibid 
; et seq. 
ibid 
433 
439 
440 
ibid 
441 
507 
510 
ibid 



548 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Lord's prayer, its exposition, .... 

Preface of ... 

Preaching, that of the divine word never to be interrupted . 
Preachers of the divine word, their authority . 

Their mission .... 
Precepts of the Decalogue — see Decalogue 

Preparation for communion, what it ought to be, how necessary 
Priests alone have the power of consecrating the Eucharist 

As Confessors, bound to inviolable secrecy, 

Called gods and angels .... 

Priests of the New Testament superior to those of the Old 

Their power very great .... 

Mercenary, should not be . . . '. 

Enter into the Church by the door 

Under every law . 

When the sacerdotal power is given to the Priest by the Bishop 

Ceremonies used in the ordination of . 

Two duties of . 
Priesthood, functions of, to be confided to no person rashly . 

Order of, though one has different degrees of dignity and power 

When instituted by Christ 

Dignity and excellence of ... 

Qualities required in the Candidate for the 

Who are said to be called to the 

Power of, two-fold 

In the Gospel dispensation, has its origin from Christ 

Two-fold . .... 

Providence of God 
Purgatory, fire of . .' .' ' ' 

Rapine •-..... 

A more grievous sin than theft, 

Different sorts of 

More comprehensive than theft 
Redemption, its benefits to us 
Relapse, grievousness of 

Remedies of a distempered soul, Penance and the Eucharist, 
Remission of sin, power of, resides in the church, 

Vested by Christ in the bishops and priests of his Church, 

The faithful should have recourse to the exercise of this power 

Obtained through the blood of Christ, . 

Unattainable, except through penance, 
Restitution necessary to a penitent .... 

Who are bound to ... 

Resurrection of Christ 

Accomplished by his own power 

Its blessings first enjoyed by Christ himself 

Took place on the third day, how to be understood, 

The mystery of, necessary .... 

Its end ••-...' 

Lessons of instruction which it furnishes 

Spiritual, proofs of ..... 

Of the dead, the foundation of our faith 

Of man, why called the resurrection of the body 

Of the body proved ..... 

Different condition of those who shall rise again 

Before the general, all men without exception shall die 

Our bodies shall rise again clothed with immortality . 

Qualities of those who shall rise with glorified bodies . 

Fruits to be gathered from a knowledge of the article upon the 
Rewards eternal, ..... 

Riches, not to be loved . . 

The rich, why they should ask for their daily bread, . 

Should look upon their wealth as the gift of God 

Why blessed by God with wealth 



444 etseq. 
423 
14 
ibid 
ibid 
316 

222 etseq. 

282 
283 
ibid 

283, 286 
284 
ibid 
286 
2S7 
295 
298 
283 
295 
232 
283 
298 
283 
285 
286 
293 

459,462 
63 

391 

392 

394 etseq. 

ibid 

448 

498 

497 

107 

108 

110 

109 

244 

393,396 

396, 397 

65 etseq. 

65 

66 

67 

68 

ibid 

70 

ibid 

112 

ibid 

113 

116 

ibid 

119 

ibid 

121 

508 

421 

483 

486 

ibid 



GENERAL INDEX. 



549 



Sabbath, its signification, ....... 355 

Its sanctification . . . . . . . 356 

Its sanctification, why so often commended in Holy Scripture . 353 

Why consecrated to God ...... 356 

A sign ... . . . . . . ibid 

Works permitted on . . . . . . 359 

Works prohibited on . . . . . . ibid 

Celestial ........ 357 

Transferred to the Lord's day, why ..... 35S 

How observed, . . . . . . ibidetseq. 

Sacrament, what, . . . . . . . . J 32 

Meaning of the word ....... 130,131 

Justice and salvation attained by ..... 132 

Definition of ....... ibid 

" Sacred thing,'' in the definition of, means the grace of God . 134 
To be numbered amongst those things which have been instituted as 

signs . . . . . . . . 132 

Sacraments signify and produce holiness ..... 133 

Signs instituted by God . . . . . . 134 

Signify various things . . . . . 135 

Of the Gospel dispensation, why instituted . . . 136 et seq. 

Consist of two things, matter and form . . . . 138 

Of the new law have a prescribed form, a departure from which, ren- 
ders their administration invalid . . . . . 139 

t Ceremonies of, cannot be omitted without sin . . . 140 

Their omission does not invalidate the Sacrament . . . ibid 
The Sacraments, why administered with solemn ceremonies" ibid et seq. 

Necessity of . . . . . . . 141 

Number of . . . . . . . 140 

Excellence of ....... 142 

Difference of ....... 141,142 

Author of, Christ ....... 142 

Administration of, why confided to man .... ibid 

Ministers of, represent the person of Christ .... ibid 

Confer justifying grace ...... 144 

How pernicious when administered with an impure conscience . 143 

Effects of ........ 144 

Excellence of, compared with those of the Old Law . . . 146 

Three imprint a character . . . . . . 14S 

Support the Christian edifice ...... ibid 

Are validly administered by wicked men, if they observe every thing 

regarding their due administration . . . . . 143 

Difference between a Sacrament and a Sacrifice . . . . 231 

Sacrifice offered to God alone and not to the Saints .... ibid 

Of the Cross and of the Mass, the same .... 232 

Saints, communion of, how useful and what it signifies . . 102, 103 

By the communion of, all christians made one body . . . 103 

Veneration of, derogates not from, but increases, the glory of God . 329 

Patronage of, not superfluous . . • . • . 330 

Patronage of, not opposed to the mediatorship of Christ . . 331 

Images of, not prohibited by the divine law .... 332 

Satan — see devil and demon ..... 473, 502 

Satisfaction, its necessity . . . . . . . 267 

Name of, whence derived ..... 265 

Various acceptations of ..... ibid et seq. 

What sort of, reconciles us to God .... ibid et seq. 

Canonical ........ 266 

Of Christ abundant ....... ibid 

An integral part of the sacrament of penance . . . ibid 

Undertaken by ourselves ...... ibid 

Definition of ....... ibid 

Virtue of ...... . 267, 270 

Does not obscure, but renders more illustrious the satisfaction of Christ 270 

True conditions of ....... 271 

He who offers, should be just . . . . . . ibid 

Painful works undertaken by way of . . . . . ibid 



550 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Satisfaction, every species of, reducible to three heads 

Inconveniences and labours inflicted by God, if borne with patience 
satisfactory 

Can be offered by one for another 

Promise of, to be made by the penitent, who has injured his neighbour 
property or character, before he receives absolution 

What to be observed, when imposing punishment by way of 

To be proportioned to the guilt of the transgressor 

Works of, should be spontaneously undertaken by the penitent 
Seal of the Lord'^ prayer .... 

Sensualists estrsnjed from God 

Service of God, its dignity .... 
Sins, irremissible, how to be understood 

Punishment of, entailed upon us by Adam 

Of thought should be confessed 

Two consequences of . 

So provoke God, that he refuses to bless our labours 

We are all subject to 

Our acknowledgement of . 

Baseness of .... 

Contagion of . . . . 

Though past in act, remain in guilt 

Always pursued by the divine wrath 

A deep sense of, and sorrow for, necessary 

God ever ready to pardon the sins of the penitent 

Impossible to be avoided without the divine aid 
Sponsors— see baptism .... 

Suicide, unlawful ..... 

Superfluities to be given to the poor . 
Swearing ...... 

What he who swears should consider 
Symbol, apostolic, why so called 

Divided into three parts 

Tears of penitential sorrow desirable 

Temptation, when assailed by, we should have recourse to prayer 

Should pray to God that we be not led into 

What 

Many sorts of ... 

Man's life a temptation 

To be patiently endured 

What we should beg of God under 

He tempts, who does not prevent temptation 

God tempts, how 

Man tempted to evil 
Tempter, the devil, why called 
Thanksgiving to be united to prayer 
Theft, the commandment forbidding it gives security to property 

Why the Seventh Commandment makes mention of theft and not of ra 
pine .... 

What is understood by the word theft 

This commandment a manifestation of God's goodness towards us 

Theft, that is the unjust possession and use of another's property, de 
signated by various names 

The very intention of committing theft, prohibited by the law of God 

How grievous the sin of 

Its enormity, obvious from its consequences 
Theft, many species of 

Not excusable 

Excuses alleged in palliation of 

Dishonors the name of God 
Testimony — see witness 
Trinity, what common, what not common, to the persons of 



271 



Vessels sacred, not to be touched by unconsecrated hands 



GENERAL INDEX. 



551 



Vice of the tongue, of great extent . . . .*.... . 403 

From it arise innumerable evils ..... ibid 

Virginity highly commended ...... 360 

Unction — see extreme unction ...... 274 

Wars intestine of man ....... 460 

Of the sinner with God ...... 490 

Watching overcomes temptation . . . . . . 507 

W ife, should be subject to her husband . . . . . 312 

Duties of ....... . ibid 

Why the ancient fathers were allowed a plurality of wives . . 308 

Woman, why taken out of the side of man ..... 312 

Will of God, why we pray that it be done ..... 469 

Sentiments of him who says, "thy will be done" . . . 473 

Witness, false, commandment against ..... 403 

This commandment mandatory and prohibitory . . . ibid 

The commandment against bearing false witness bridles the tongue . ibid 

False, what . . . . . . . 404 

Prohibited not only in, but also out of, courts of justice . . 406 

How many ways a man's reputation is injured by falsehood . . ibid 

To bear witness, is to praise God ..... 409 

Is of very great use in society ..... 410 

Should be careful not to affirm as true, what he does not know to be true ibid 

Word of God, food of the soul ....... 484 

Famine of ....... . ibid 

Word of the pastor to be heard as the word of God — see preface . . 14 
Incarnation of " the Word ' . . . . . 45 et seq. 

Words the most significant signs . . , . . . 139 

Works, good cannot be performed without the grace of God . . 468 

Unacceptable to God without faith and charity . . . 27 1 

Of satisfaction ....... ibid 

Worship, external due to God ..... 352 et seq. 



Zeal in the service of God 



337 



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70 





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THE CROSS IN ITS TRUE LIGHT, 

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comfort to the mind depressed by affliction, and to improve the various scenes of human 
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